Not just talking the talk...

When I first decided I was going to run the Tinkerbell Half, I was really nervous.  I honestly wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it.  As a started my training,  I just kept thinking, "What in the hell made me think I could be a distance runner?!"  Nothing ever seemed fast enough or (more importantly) far enough.  I wondered at what point I would be proud of my abilities; when would I finally feel like I was officially "on my way" to actually becoming an accomplished runner?  To me, five miles seemed like a good first milestone... when I could run five miles without stopping, that would be something to be proud of.

Guess how far I ran yesterday?

Five miles.

And not only did I run straight through those five miles, I felt incredible.  I kept a good pace, and felt just as good on the last half mile as I did on the first.  I can't really describe what is was like to run almost effortlessly for an hour, but I can honestly say I now know what they mean by "the runner's high".... for those fifty-eight minutes, I was totally unstoppable.

I think I've figured out the secret to better long runs: I was doing all of my running Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, which meant that I was going into my long run with only one day of rest.  After a fairly fatigued long run last weekend, I decided to try something new this week and run Monday-Wednesday-Saturday.  Bingo!  That one extra day helped me feel nice and rested and super energetic; the only downside is that now I only have one day of recovery after my long run, but I'm already rearing to go for tomorrow's run, so I think this new schedule will work out nicely.

In addition to the general awesomeness that was my Saturday run, I also happened to set another accidental 5K PR.... my Nike+ watch recorded my 5K split at 35:47.  It really makes me think that I could hit that 35:00 I've been eyeing.  The next time I will run just a 5K (not as part of a longer run) will be in about a week and a half, and I am so ready to see what I can do.  35:00, I'm coming for you...