What an incredible morning, spent together with my No Boundaries group. We were unified, all with the realizations that milestones were on the horizon, but work had to happen in order to taste that sweet flavor of SUCCESS!
I have to say that I was extremely nervous. The fact that I ran 5 miles this past May, once before, didn't ease any emotions. I got up, dressed and made some breakfast as I waited for Pina to come greet me with her "It's game day attitude" hidden behind her smile.
I couldn't find my watch, and I was letting that get to me. I also was going to try "magic jelly beans" during this run to help aid with energy and nutrition. Two new things to tackle, but I had to keep my head in the game.
We got there, and when I saw all the others from our pace group, a sense of calmness came over. If I was going to have to do this, they were going to have to do it as well.
3.2.1. GOOOOO. We left the beautiful scenery of Durand Park and headed for the streets and subdivisions. After that we continued towards the O'Rourke bridge that gets you from Irondequoit to Greece. I've crossed that COUNTLESS times via car over the past 30 years of my life and never once ever thought I'd run over it. The view of the Lake, and all the new renovations this area has made helped block the horrible incline. After that, we were at the 2.5 mile mark. Right about then I popped the full bag of Pomegranate Jelly Belly brand of Nutrition/Energy beans. They tasted really great actually, which was a nice surprise. Eating and Chewing them however, as I labored a bit with my breathing; was not something I appreciated.
So... did they work? I don't know. Ha!!
I couldn't tell if it was more in my mind, or if they actually improved the last half of my run. I can tell that they did a number on my stomach... but can't be completely sure if my stomach just needed more water. (Note to self, upgrade the amount of water I carry when running more than 4 miles).
At one point we were told that we were at 3.75 miles and the Park was in the distance. It was the best news ever. "I got this" I said to myself. "And soon you'll be home to tell you husband how awesome it was!"
When we got to our starting point, we were only at 4.7 miles. Once getting over that mental block that we indeed had to run farther than we thought, it was smooth sailing. Disappointing at first, but the fight I still had left to give shined as best as it could. We did it. We ran passed others that had finished their goal and were now stretching.
We did it... and we were together, start to finish! These girls along with Pina, our fabulous pacer and friend gave this run our all.
THAT's what moved me today! And it felt great! Dare I say SIX MILES is next week? Holy cow... but it is. So here's to a great week of strength training and homework runs. I put faith in No Boundaries time and again, so I shouldn't have anything to worry about! Running CHANGES everything!
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