Friday, September 11, 2009

6 miles

So this morning I got up, dropped off the kids at school/YMCA camp, and picked up my running buddy Wendy. Her and I run the same pace, so it's great to run together. We decided to do our 6 miles at the American Tobacco Trail which is a trail that runs for 22 miles from our county into the neighboring county. It is nice and wide and accommodates both runners and bikers as well as horses.

We when got out of the van, it was a cool 64 degrees out. I kept a long sleeved shirt on, and had my brand new water bottle thingy my good friend got me as an early birthday present. It is just like this one:

It was really nice. I can't carry a water bottle in my hand as I run because I do this crazy grip thing that makes my hand hurt. This straps onto my hand and I barely knew it was there.

The run was great, as was the trail. All the miles and half miles are marked (although we never saw the 2.5 mile marker). The first half mile came at us so fast, we were shocked. The first three miles actually went pretty fast. We turned around to run back at the end of mile three, and my stomach growled. I think it's time to invest in those GU energy things. At around mile 4, my knees started to hurt, but not bad enough to warrant walking. Just annoying.

We kept our pace pretty much the same for the entire 6 miles. We slowed down three times - once for me to take my long sleeved shirt off, once when we did the turn to turn and get water, and once for me to check my phone. So really, we probably kept closer to a 10 minute mile for some of the miles.

And yes, I stopped at Starbucks on the way home and got some coffee and some coffee cake before my stomach started to eat itself.

I was nervous to run 6 miles - a distance I had never done before. Now I get to get nervous about 7 miles for next weekend. And that 6 miles means I have run 12 miles this week. Of course, putting in perspective and realizing the run I did today wasn't even half the distance of a half marathon scares the shit out of me, but maybe by the end of this training, it won't be so scary.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sweet lord. 6 frickety miles. I am in AWE of you!!

I've been trying to learn how to run. I suck more than a Dyson at it and shamefully admit I haven't ran in 6 weeks.

You're doing a fantastic job and I'm super impressed and proud :)

Laura said...

Way to go....you are doing great!!!!! Keep at it!!!!

Jennifer said...

You are making me feel like I really should get off of this couch... nice job!
(I've decided to stop being a family lurker :)

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...about the only thing that MIGHT make me run 6 miles would be Starbucks coffee and coffee cake.

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

Trust the training plan. The mileage will increase as will your confidence. I LOVE Gu Chomps mixed with water very refreshing.

The half marathon distance is TOUGH, but also truly enjoyable. YOu have plenty of time and will be great!

That Chick Over There said...

I love that water bottle. *envy*

You are awesome! I'm so impressed with you! Eventually, I'll be able to run. You know, for longer than 2 minutes at a time.