Sunday, August 1, 2010

Diary of a Runner

Yesterday I did my longest run of yet...12 miles.  Today I am a little sore but feeling very accomplished.  We are in Nashville staying in with good friends and I knew I had to do a long run while we were there and I was worried about running in the heat so I got up at 6 am on Saturday morning and got down to the run.  I even slept in my running clothes to make sure it was easy to crawl out of bed and get on the road.  My plan was to do 6 miles out and 6 miles back to the house and it was easy enough that I ran down one road all the way there.  The first half was smooth, I had regularly run 6 miles so it didn't feel like anything I hadn't done before.  I recently bought a fuel belt so I had water when I needed it and I have a playlist for running on my Ipod.

The second half of the run is where things got interesting.  No sooner than did I turn around to start the second half did the rain come. Not a little drizzle, this was full on rain!  I thought about stopping, but I was reminded of my friend Kristy who once told me that if it rained during my race I would continue to run so I should run in the rain during my training runs.  She had a great point so I stuck it out and ran.  The only thing that was a little uncomfortable was that my pants were heavier since they were cotton and were soaked.  There were moments when I really wanted to stop but I pushed through.  Towards the last mile of the run, a white car drove by me and I realized it was RSlo! I thought he would have still been sleeping by the time I got back from my run, but he hadn't realized that I gotten up earlier to run so he was surprised that I was so close to being done. It was nice to have him there and right at the end of the run he was standing in front of the house and I was exhausted by then (and it didn't help there was a small hill I had to run up), so I simply focused on his tie-dye shirt all the way until the end.  I did the run in 2 hours exactly, which I was so proud of and I am glad that I pushed myself to do it!

I am super happy about my run.  I am getting into runs now which will be more that I have ever done before so every long run is a little daunting but I am staying motivated and positive.  I also need to start downloading more music because my playlist is only 2 hours long, and these longer runs will take a lot more time.

2 comments:

  1. two things stood out for me.
    First: your sheer will and tenacity. Keep it up.
    secondly the obvious love and connection between you and rslo. It's real and tangible and I love, envy it but most of all am happy that you have it.
    Cherish it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I could visualize this scene unfolding - a persistent Alana running in the rain. You GO girl. I'm so proud of you for keeping it up and on VACAY, no less. <3

    ReplyDelete