5 Mile-Stone

Tonight something really amazing happened: I ran 5 miles on the treadmill, without stopping, and without feeling like death may come any moment. While this may not seem huge, it was.

Five miles has always been (well, since junior year) my signature distance. I blame my dad, who made me run this distance with him at home. Since I adjusted to that reasonable length everything else seemed too short. A 3 mile run only takes around 30 minutes and burns about 300 calories: not enough in my mind. So, I only ever ran 5miles or longer.

Then, last January, my dad and I started in on the "1,000 mile year". A goal which requires 20 miles per week for 50 weeks. I ran this as 4, 5 mile runs a week. For 2 months. Then I burnt out and ran maybe 10-15 miles a week (on a good week) until I fizzled out completely in May and got fat. So, in short, I haven't run 5 miles at a time, consistently, since like last March. That's pathetic (in my mind).

Because of all this, I was dreading the 5 mile run that has been staring me in the face for the past 4-5 weeks. The glaring figure on my schedule haunted me like Saw II never could. I simply did not think I could get past this mental hurdle again. And I didn't want to fail. Last winter I often did 5 mile runs indoors and it was fine. Then I had the burnout and couldn't get past one or two miles without a struggle.

But, I did it. I felt great after two miles. Still strong after three. I upped the anti at 4 and did some hills, then picked up the pace, and alternated this in half mile increments for the last 2 miles. It felt incredible. I can't really put my finger on why it felt so good, but I think it's a combination of accomplishment and confidence. I broke my biggest mental barrier by once again working up to my "signature" distance, and I felt strong doing it.

I know I have much longer runs ahead of me but they seem that much more do-able since I was able to destroy the 5 mile hurdle. I'm also looking forward to running outdoors on these Sunday long runs, another fact that's keeping me going.

I now approach this next week feeling strong, confident, and dedicated. I am my own worst enemy, and if I can control that, I can do anything.