going farther

This morning I dragged two of my friends to the park to run with me.  My goal was to complete at least five miles in preparation for Boston's Run to Remember on Sunday, May 27th.  Well, I succeeded today! I completed 5.22 miles in 1:10:01.  My average pace was 13:25 minutes per mile, with three of my miles being under my goal 12:00 per mile for the race.  I mostly walked miles 3 and 4, but it was good because it allowed me to complete the last mile strong.  I hit the five mile mark at 1:07:24, so I have three weeks to get to that distance in under an hour.  However, the adrenaline and excitement of a race somehow manages to make my legs fly a little faster than I thought they could, so I'm thinking that it will be no problem.

I'm proud of my friends too for staying out there with me for over an hour and completing a little over four miles themselves.  They hate me (but really it's love) because I have pulled them into the running madness!  The three of us are a team for The Color Run in Amesbury, MA on July 28th, which we are all really looking forward to and can't wait to participate in.

When I was out running today, all I could think about was the Tinker Bell Half.  I'm looking past the five mile and the 10K and looking towards the big one, which is a little daunting.  At the two mile mark I was thinking, okay, only three more miles to go.  Then I thought to myself that at Tink, I'll be saying only 11.1 miles to go.  Gulp.  That's going to be a long distance to tackle, but I'm confident that eight months from now it won't seem so bad and it will be possible.  I can't wait to cross that finish line and have that awesome medal put around my neck.  Guaranteed I will burst into tears at that moment and it will be one of the best moments of my life. :-)