Easy 4 miles

Three years ago I would never have imagined saying that. Yet here I am. 2 marathons and 6 half marathons later. It's not a given, three years later, that 4 miles will always be easy. Tonight it was and it felt great.

I planned to do 2 miles in my neighborhood. I wasn't looking forward to it all that much because I had to run alone. I haven't run alone very much this season. Since May, there always seemed to be some group or another of Phillyfit folks working together during the week and I glommed on to as many of those outings as I could. I so enjoy running with all of them.

Anyway, back to tonight. As I left the house I commented to my husband that I felt silly spending as much time as I did gearing up for 2 miles. I took me almost as long to change as it would to do the run. But off I went nonetheless. The sun was setting so I wore my reflective gear, too.

The first thing I noticed is that my breathing never struggled. It usually takes some time (depending on how long I've been off) to get into a rhythm with that. Not tonight. I did quick assessment of all my various parts and the only thing that niggled at me was my right shin. I decided to keep going and let it work itself out since there wasn't any real pain.. just felt kind of stiff. I let my mind wander to the Marathon in 12 days. I am really looking forward to running with my friends and doing intervals (something I've shunned during races in the past). Before I knew it, I was done 2 miles. Wow. The shin issue was all gone and I was feeling really comfortable. So I went around for another 2.

I felt like I could do more after that but didn't. I think I'm right where I want to be going into the last 12 days before the marathon. I want to feel like I've got more left.