I couldn't wait......

Thanks to a couple of snoring bedmates this morning, I awoke at 4:45 and to 'putter' around the house. I became restless, started thinking about the 5 miler and the next thing ya know, I was on the treadmill! I just wanted to git'er done....I should mention that I'm hoping to be putting my elbows up on a bartop tonight next to a girlfriend I haven't seen in awhile - so I was pretty sure this morning was the best option for the long run, for obvious reasons wink wink.

So....I DID IT! Five miles - CHECK. Piece of cake. I had a couple of strategies in mind - for starters, I decided not to be a clock/pace watcher today. So I glanced at the Garmin about once a mile - mainly to strategically place any walk breaks. I took a two minute walk break at the end of mile one (still 'warming up'), then a one minute walk at the end of mile two, and then I cruised along to the end of mile 4 and took a one minute walk then, and then picked up my pace to finish up the 5th mile. I averaged 14:40/mile which is DEAD ON with the training plan which had this run at 14:38/mile.

What could be better? I love having these little personal victories every week! This is the best part of being a new runner. My legs feel great, I made sure to stretch well before and after the run - my hip is nice and loose and therefore no ITB issue around the knee - at least not yet. I stretch the hip/ITB every day twice a day now by the way, whether I'm running or not.

Ahh... Life is good (read: runner's high, lol). Even better....It's not even 9am yet, and I've accomplished the most major 'to do' of the three day weekend...the rest is all easy! Who cares about 10 loads of laundry when I just ran 5 miles?

I have to say, I'm so stinkin' proud of myself. For the first time since I signed up for this half marathon, I really feel a surge of confidence that I can actually do this. As long as I stay smart, take care of myself - I WILL pull this off!

Cheers!