9 Miles Running!

Today I did something I've always thought was impossible - I ran 9 miles without stopping. I know, you're thinking, "Hey, didn't she do a half marathon last year?", and yes, I did. I didn't do it without walking though. I made it to mile 5 last year and then suffered some crippling pain from an injury that all but took me out of the race.

This year I have been training, with...knock on wood...no injuries. I made it to mile 5 and got a little fearful that what happened to me last year would happen again. But it didn't and it hasn't.

Today I was really nervous. I had a terrible time with the 8 mile run (of course, I was on vacation in Hilton Head) and had to walk quite a bit. When we started the run, I turned on my Ipod only to discover that it was dead. Nine miles with no music to keep me company was scary. Luckily I found a running partner...who turned around at mile 3 (instead of 4.5). I was literally on my own.

I was happy to make the turn around. I was glad to reach miles 6 and 7. It wasn't until I hit mile 8 that I actually started to think that I could make this distance. There were plenty of times I wanted to stop but I just kept thinking that stopping would make me feel better immediately but then I would regret it the rest of the day.

And so I did it! Now I'm thinking that if I can do 9, 13.1 is not much farther. Maybe, just maybe I can do that too.

Stay tuned.