Half Marathon. Here I Come

I just finished the longest run I think I have ever run. 10.6 miles in 1h31m17s. I felt really good.

When I left my home I had planned to run for about 1 hour. I was trying out some new Under Armour training pants and a new Reebok jacket I just got. Both were very good for a cold New England day. The wind resistant quality really helped keep me warm. What I did not like about the pants was that the waist band dug into my side a bit. I actually did not notice this until I got in the shower and felt the sting.

Let me back up. I have this training goal to run from my home in the Center of Westfield to all of the towns that surround Westfield. Westfield, Mass is the third largest land mass in the state. So far I have run to Southwick and Granville. All of these runs will be at least 7 miles, but most of which will be substantially longer. Today's run was to Russell, MA. Russell is a small town at the foot of the Berkshire mountains.

I felt so good about 3 miles into my run that I decided I was close enough to Russell to run there. I didn't know how far it would be to accomplish this, but I knew it was going to be at least 9 miles. Normally I would never attempt a long run without mapping it out first. Today I decided to be spontaneous and go for a goal.

I had a really good run. My breathing was under control and just leaned back and enjoyed myself. Before I knew it I was at the Welcome to Russell sign. I turned around and headed back home. About one mile from home I had one large hill to tackle and breezed right up it. When I finished me run I felt like I could have kept going. Now that I have been sitting here for a bit my legs are getting tight and I could probably use a stretch and some Biofreeze.

More importantly this run has made me fell a big step closer to obtaining another goal of mine, to complete a 1/2 marathon in April. I was not sure if I could handle a run of that distance but today was a huge mental boost.