It's rewarding

Going for a run is always rewarding.  I typcially don't need a lot of motivation to get out and run.  I look forward to waking up at 4:30AM to go for a 5-miler before school.  Deep down inside, I take pride in the fact that I don't party hard on Friday and Saturday nights so that I can do double-digit runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  It's when I save the run for the evening that I have a bit of trouble getting excited.

After school, my feet usually hurt.  I am not a sedentary teacher; I am all over the place, jumping onto and off of chairs and tables for seven hours each day.  I hop and run back and forth across my room, I jump often to reach the top of my SmartBoard.  I do a lot of dancing.  I don't wear orthopedic shoes.  Wearing flats and 3.5" heels for seven hours of bouncing off of the walls leaves me kinda exhausted come 2:25.  I worried that I wouldn't run my planned 6 miles today, let alone get out at all.  As soon as I got home, I changed immediately into my running gear.  I knew that I'd be more likely to run if I were already dressed for the occasion.  I did things to try to procrastinate--had a bowl of Lucky Charms, sat down with the lappy, and turned on the TV.  At 3:45, it was do-or-die time.  I reluctantly laced up my shoes, turned on my Garmin, and went out the door.

Not even at the corner of our street, I thought about turning back.  I felt an annoying cramp in my left calf, which I had never felt before.  I immediately thought, "Joe would tell me to foam roll it."  I didn't turn back, though, because I (correctly) assumed that the discomfort would subside after a mile.  Around a half-mile, I felt like I needed to find a bathroom.  Still, I kept going.  I think I hit my first mile in 8:28--not bad at all.  I worried that I went out too fast and that there'd be no way I'd hit negative splits for my planned 6 miles.

The second mile was rough.  My calf and bowel discomforts were gone, but I just wasn't feeling the run.  My hands were cold, my tights were sliding down, and my pony tail-holder was trying its hardest to fall out of my hair.  Then I hit a park in which the path was covered in nasty slush.  I slowed down to 8:35.  So much for those negative splits.

Somewhere in the third mile, I had a choice to head one way and extend the 6 miles to 7 OR to keep the 6.  I felt ambitious and went for 7. It ended up being a good thing, as I started to feel better about the run, especially after the halfway-point.  I got a little bummed when I saw that mile 3 was 8:41.  That's definitely not horrible, but I am usually really good about going out slower and running only faster and faster throughout the run.

I started feeling good and then great after that third mile and improved my pace with every mile from that point to the end.  Even with those 8:30+ miles, I averaged 8:25, which is close to my goal for the Glass City Marathon.

I'm glad that I got out for the run.  I'm glad that I ran a mile longer than I had planned.  I'm pleased with my pace.  What feels best, though, is that although I had worried about my mental strength to get myself outside today, I did it!