Sunday, January 10, 2010

10 miles

This picture of me was taken around the 7-mile mark.... 

I tried clocking 10 miles in my car the other night.  Driving 65 mph .... it still felt like a long time before i hit the 10-mile mark. 


I dreamed of running last night. I always dream of running the night before our Sunday training run. I wonder if my dreams help carry me the following morning. As if I have mapped the course out already in my dreams so it makes my running less effortless when I am actually running it.


At one point during my run this morning, I looked up and in that split second, I had a Deja vu of that same moment already happening.


It does make me curious.


My run this morning covered three parks! Howard, Spring Lake and Annadel and we ran around three lakes: Lake Ralphine, Spring Lake and Lake Ilsanjo, but I had my head down on the trail through most of it and didn't even notice two of the lakes!


While running, I overheard two women behind me talking about fruit and carbs and protein. I listened hard as I don't have a clue on good nutrition. Especially during training runs. I heard one of the women call the other "Wendy" and I instantly recognized the name as one of my sister's friends.


When they were through talking, I introduced myself, while sucking in air, pushing up a long, hard uphill climb.  I was happy to hear they were BOTH fans of my sister and they told me how much they admire her. I felt warmed by their kind words and it pushed me to run a little harder.. as they passed me on the uphill.


I ran alone most of the morning until I caught up with Anita and she and I ran the rest of the run in together. 


This morning's run had less elevation gain than any of our other training runs so I was able to run it in 1 hour and 47 minutes compared to running nine miles last Sunday in 2 hours and 10 minutes! 


But we still had some hills to climb and my calves at one point felt like they were water balloons about to explode! I tried pointing my toes downward as I ran and it seemed to relieve the pain somewhat.


The half-marathon is one month away. 


I am still feeling surprised and happy that I was able to run 10 miles today. Each Sunday I am running farther than I did previous runs.  It just makes me crazy with giddiness.


It is so rewarding to watch my body change and do things I never dreamed possible.

P.S. My Uncle Jerry passed away this morning on Long Island, New York.  RIP. I will miss you and praying for the family.

6 comments:

Amber said...

OMG Shawn! You rock! It seemed like only yesterday you were celebrating your first 10k! I'm excited for you! You don't even look tired!

Angela and Jen said...

Isn't it funny how when you are on well travelled trails, you usually hear someone discussing diet at some point? Your progress is awesome. And yes, Tom Crull rocks! Jen

valerie walsh said...

this is so awesome shawn! you look adorable in your avatar btw :) i do believe in the dream state that if you go over your routine you will do better also going over things in your mind seeing what you wanna have happen works quite well too, not that things always go as planned... ;) hope life is good it looks like it is :)

Christine said...

I'm so inspired by your running progress! And you still have a month to go until the half marathon... just think how much more endurance you'll have by then! Keep it up!

On the downside, I'm sorry to hear about your Uncle Jerry. May all his loved ones find comfort in happy memories of him.

Dan Guerra said...

Wow! 10 miles is an awesome achievement Shawn! And the oddest thing happened, I had a feeling of deja vu when I read the paragraph about the runners behind you talking about nutrition! hmmm...
Keep up the good work Shawn! I'm sorry to hear about your Uncle Jerry.

doodlegirl said...

WOW!! Thanks everyone for your comments!!!

A few things to respond to...
Val: Thanks for reminding me that I might not be as off kilter as i think I can be at times. I love how you think! :O}

Christine and Amber and Jen... Thank you for your enthusiasm and kind words. They carry me while i run.

Dan.. I always appreciate you bein' here. Interesting thought behind your deja vu!!!