You probably already saw a mention on Facebook or Twitter from a couple weeks ago when I hit the 3 mile mark. That was true and false. My entire run in the morning had finally grown to 3 miles. But that still included the warm-up, cool-down, and breaks in the middle. My body was finally taking me through the entire first mile before I really hit a wall and had to slow down. While really great to be doing that well, it still wasn’t a solid 3 miles of running.
Today it was.
Three months ago when I first got up in the morning in the middle of a heat wave and put on sneakers to head out for my first “run” it took me about 34 minutes to walk 2.1 miles. I think I went around the high school track once and that constituted the entire “running” portion of the morning’s exercise. As my running increased and my time decreased, more laps were added and my route was adjusted. Eventually it was 4 laps at the track with long stretches of running. And then I got tired of the dirty looks from the gym class and decided to stop running at the high school.
So then I find myself on the road trying to find a new path. And I hit the mile mark. And I adjust my breathing. And I adjust my gait. And then I’m still running. And that day I go 2.1 miles – the same as my first day total – running without a break.
And then came the doctor.
Last week it was time for them to take a look inside and see if they find anything. So far so good. More tests in the coming weeks, but maybe just maybe my colon is in for the long haul. Either way, the test (and getting a cold) shut me down for 2 days. I didn’t run for 3 straight days and only walked on the 4th. For me, that’s a big deal. I can’t break the habit or it’ll die. And while I picked it back up, I wasn’t getting back to 2 miles straight right away.
And then this week I did.
This week I was back in form. And each day it was the 2 mile mark in the middle of a hill that broke me. Until today it couldn’t. There was an epiphany – if I can push myself through the wall at 1 mile, why not 2? And so I adjusted my breathing and adjusted my gait and found myself headed towards the “finish line”.
So I’ve got to hurry up and make my morning shake and take a quick shower before bolting off to work. But first I just wanted to bask in a little self-satisfaction that I hit another milestone today. 3 miles in under 28 minutes. Not bad.
And as an added bonus, here’s the song that pushed me through that wall: