Nine

For those who are new to the Den, I'm training for my first 1/2 marathon during the Illinois Marathon. As of today, said 1/2 marathon is in 13 days. I've been training religiously for this thing, thanks to CARA. Yesterday was our longest run yet as a group - nine miles.

In a word, it was awesome (OK, three words but you get what I'm saying). We started at 7:30AM with temps in the low 40s, which was pretty ideal. A couple of our regulars weren't there, so my group leader and I went out a little faster than our normal pace. I'd run last week with a faster group and had managed to keep up but didn't want to stress it on the longer run. We wound up running a faster pace anyway. We headed south on the Prairie Path and it was gorgeous! Spring was evident everywhere and that may have charged the run as well.

The pace was great - sub 10 minute miles for seven of the nine miles and conversational pace the whole time. I didn't feel tired and never got that "By all that's holy, when is this ending?" feeling that sometimes creeps up. What I was able to envision was finishing the 1/2 without shame. As we ran the last mile, I started getting really excited about the race on May 1. It's going to be, dare I say it, fun.

Fun. I never thought I would have equated running with fun, but here I am saying it's fun. It's challenging. It's good for the mind and soul. It makes me happy. It really is a good time. And can I just tell you how much I love my shoes:
Well done, Brooks, well done!

So, I'm having fun with this running thing. Logic and several of my friends say I've got a marathon in me. I'm going to see how I do at the 1/2 before I make that decision. Although the Honolulu Marathon in December or Bermuda Marathon in January has a certain appeal...