Uncharted Waters

This morning I just ran farther than I have ever ran before.

I have been battling a cold the last week and a half, so I haven't been running.  The last run was Tuesday after the Platte River Half.  I've been wanting to just charge through it, suck it up, and keep going, but I knew I was going to have to take some time off.  No reason to risk anything.

So I woke up this morning, got all my stuff ready, and headed out the door to meet up with the team for our long run.  I had no idea how today was going to go.  I just had the feeling like I needed to get out and go, and not focus on the distance.  If I made it 7, great.  If I made it 13, awesome.  Double digits was the goal.  The team was going 16 miles, and I was hoping that I was going to be able to make it that far.  But if I was being honest, I was secretly hoping to just make it farther than I have ever ran, which to this point has been a half marathon - 13.1 miles.

I started running and I felt like crap.  My breathing was heavier, my body felt heavier, I just felt sluggish.  The first half of the run, my breathing was out of whack - I was coughing a little, and just generally feeling the cold.  The second half, my body felt out of whack.  A combination of not running for a week and a half, and the ache your body gets when you're sick, my body just wasn't too happy to be running.

I made it more than 7.  I made it more than 10.  I made it more than 13.1.  When I came to a stop, I had made it 14.26 miles.

This is a turning point in my training - I have now ran 3 half marathons, but this is the first run MORE than that. And over the next few weeks, this is going to be a common theme.  When I run 18.  When I run 20.  There's going to be a handful of Saturdays before the race where I will finish it and be able to say "that was the farthest I've ever ran."  And then comes the big day.

I'm super excited that I made it 14+, and that I am starting to hit distances that I have never gone before.  Each week becomes more and more crucial.

And I can't wait to conquer it run by run!