A kick-ass runner just dying to get out!

It came as quite a surprise to learn that apparently there is a long-distance runner inside of me that's been dying to get out! This week I've been determined to follow my training plan ... or at least follow my training plan in spirit. I always end up switching up the workouts and the dates, but my goal was to do ALL of the recommended workouts (and as long as I get to the pool after finishing this post and get on my bike this evening I WILL accomplish this goal!) So after working four nights in a row I woke up feeling really sluggish but there was no way I could get in all of my workouts if I skipped a whole day. So I drank my coffee, had something to eat and thought about working out ... then I thought some more ... and some more ... and next thing I know it's 11 p.m. Of course my gym is long closed at this time so my only real option was to run.

So at about 11:30 p.m., I grabbed my iPod and headed to campus to run on the track outside of the hospital. My plan was a 4 mile slow run and my podcast of choice was the Buffy Season 4 "Buffcast." The first 3 miles felt great and my heart rate was staying nice and low, when I hit the 4 mile mark I still felt awesome so I decided to take it to mile 5. At the 5th mile, I still felt awesome so I decided to go one more. This whole time I kept wondering, "So how far can I go?? 7? 8? 10 miles? My heart rate was staying exactly where I wanted it to be, my breathing was relaxed and I just felt like I could go all night. With two laps to go before mile 6, my right knee started to ache a bit so I decided that I would stop at 6 miles. I'm sure that was a wise choice given that this is the knee that plagued me after my mountaineering trip in 1998 and I don't want to push so hard that I injure myself. The awesome thing was knowing that I COULD HAVE run farther. On that track I could easily see my finish at a 10K and a half-marathon, and for the first time the possibility of a marathon became a definite reality. I'm obviously capable of it, I just need to train smart so that I don't hurt myself. The best part was that I felt so good after that run, that 6 mile, one hour, 7 minute 45 second run. Who would have thought???