10 mile day.

Today I planned my pavement 10mi run. 10 miles always seems to intimidate me. I don't know why, but those double digits make me nervous. We somehow totally missed daylight savings time, and woke up to half of the clocks saying 7am, and the other half saying 8am. So by the time I got myself and the kids ready, and got the beans soaking for dinner, it was 10am. I finally headed out around 10:15am. I was expecting to make it back around 12:15, keeping my pace nice and steady.

The beginning of the run felt okay, but I defiantly noticed my heel. I have either a stress fracture or achilles tendonitis in my right heel. It was sore, but certainly not holding me back. I jogged and passed what seemed like half of Los Alamos leaving Church, noticing my hubby's truck dropping off my oldest daughter at Religious Ed. I jogged along and came to the first hill when my legs somehow turned into bricks. I don't know if it was the lack of training during the week, or my allergies but I was EXHAUSTED at mile 3, yikes! I was beginning to question my own resolve, but allowed myself to walk quickly and briefly. I was determined to make my way up to the top of the hill without slowing too much. As I made it to the top of the hill, I started to feel better.

At my turn around, things were looking up until I realized I was headed back into the wind. Somehow I hadn't noticed the wind at my back pushing me. Every step became a battle against that invisible force that sucks away energy. 4.5 miles doesn't seem long unless it is at the end of a run into a spring wind. Long story short, it was a struggle. I did see my family driving back from a leisurely lunch around mile 8.5 and I got a little boost. However, that boost was short lived as I waited for my legs to give out and for me to fall onto the road. I somehow managed to finish with a smile at 12:14 and finally iced my heel.