Woo-hoo!

Go me!

Last night I ran my very first 6 mile run outside! I'm so proud of myself I can't even stand it. This is one of the highlights of my running-life so far. I've been bragging about it all day to my non-running friends at work, and they look at me like I'm an idiot. Then, after a half-hearted "super job", they quickly change the subject to something a bit more fascinating, like Britney Spears.

Forget them.

I RAN 6 MILES!

The farthest I've done outside is about 4 and it was in the winter time. On a treadmill I've done 6 a few times, but it's not the same. I guess I've just had this mental block about going further because physically when I was done, I felt great.

I wouldn't have done it without Mercy. She came over to run with me and we set off around 7:15pm. It was gray and drizzling the whole time and there was a lot of lightning that day so we almost didn't go at all. Oh yeah and the humidity was, I kid you not, 95%. Fun, looove Miami. Anyway, we did my 3 mile loop which was great. I felt really good and we paced ourselves together well. I thought it would be hard to run with her since she runs 6 everyday and I usually run by myself and with my ipod. But it was so easy and we talked the whole time (until the last mile of the loops) which made the run fly by. Anyway, I thought we were done at 3 miles then she asked if I wanted to go around again, and after a bit of hesitation I agreed to do 10 minute runs, with one minute walks until we finished. So we started around again. We stopped at 10, started again and when the next 10 were up, I felt great, so we kept going. We finished really strong, my ankle didn't hurt and the drizzling felt great. We averaged 10 minute miles which isn't too shabby and I still can't believe how great I felt, (until I ate a bowl of gazpacho later and got really nauseous. I think that was just from lack of sleep though).

Now that I have broken the whole "I can't run more than 3.5 miles, boo-hoo, how will I ever finish a half-marathon?" mental- block-thing I've had for 5 years, I can truly see finishing it in my future. I can even see a glint of a full marathon out in the distance somewhere. I guess I just have to keep chasing it, literally.

P.S.
Don't get me wrong, I talk about poor Britney just as much as the next guy.