Some days, you just need a kick in the pants...

I need that slug picture again, 'cause hoo boy, is it ever fitting these days. I don't know what the heck is wrong with me (although glancing at the calendar gives me an idea), but running today was something I just had to grit my teeth and endure. Like the big E on my bracelet, you know, the mantra-spawning Train-Endure-Achieve-Matter bracelet. There was a lot of enduring going on today despite the sunny skies.

I ran a route I haven't run in a while, an out-and-back, to get my 4 miles. Out-and-back may be boring, but it makes the run feel shorter because you're breaking it up into more pieces, and the whole second half, you're on the way home.

I procrastinated my way through the day (work is always a convenient excuse) and dog-walking time, and then I realized if I didn't get off my tookus and get my running shoes on, the run was not going to happen, making it three days in a row of Amanda's butt planted firmly on the couch--not acceptable with less than 7 weeks to go before the half. Not to mention the big red NOPE of fail I'd have to put on my weekly report.

So I finally pushed off around 5:30 and tried to focus on relaxing through the first mile. I was breathing a little harder than I'd like so early in a run, but hit mile 1 at 10:32. I kept waiting for my body to settle into a groove, but the whole second mile, my thoughts flailed around like the legs of a bug stuck on its back. I hit mile 2 at 21:00 flat and decided to walk for 30 seconds and see if that helped. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I recovered in just that brief amount of time, and pushed off heartened into mile 3. Finally, finally, I felt like I was hitting my stride and crossed the 3-mile mark at 31:25. I think the last mile actually felt the best, even though the last quarter-mile was all uphill. I hit my driveway (and thus mile 4) at 41:42, just in time to see my neighbor exiting his porch. I walked around and around and around his driveway while we chatted, reassuring him that I was not totally insane, but that I had to keep moving for 5 minutes before I went inside to stretch.

As always, I feel much better now that I have run. And despite how rough it felt, 41:42 over 4 miles comes out to a 10:25 pace per mile, which I am very happy with. My last mile was actually the fastest. I wonder if I'll be able to do negative splits in the half? (That means you run faster during the second half of the race than the first half.)

I'm glad to be crossing this one off with a YES! and glad I endured.