Reflections on yesterday's 10 miler

The difference between 8 miles and 10 miles is big, although it doesn't seem so. When you start to run for longer than an hour at a time it's tempting to say, "two miles...that's twenty minutes or less--piece of cake!" Tempting, but not true.

As I discovered yesterday, the difference between 8 and 10 miles is the difference between flying and crawling. It is the rude crash back to reality after riding the high; it is your body's way of humbling you ("you think you're so great? try this").

It's funny that I feel this way because this is not my first time ever running 10 miles...That was three years ago, around a 1/3 mile loop and I was so proud I cried. It's strange how running longer distances brings out such a range of emotions, most of which I think I experienced yesterday in the span of under 2 hours.

Here's my report...

• I moved up into a new pace group...something I was really scared to do. People have a tendency to say "don't worry...if it's too fast for you, you can always fall back into a slower group". Technically yes...realistically no. If I'm going to brave joining this group I'm going to finish with them even if I die doing it ( I know it's a bad attitude to have but it's just a part of who I am...) I'm glad to report I didn't die ;-)
  
• I love running with girls. The group I ran with was made up of 5 strong girls...The great thing about running with girls is that you become part of a set and as a set you get a lot of encouragement from bystanders that you don't get on your own (probably because guys don't want to be seen as creepy). The following are the encouraging words we got from others as we ran..."Keep it up girls", "And they're cute", "How far are you going today?" and my personal favorite, directed at me and coming from a ninety year old man "That's good for your body". Just a simple good morning can be encouraging while you're out on a run, but these were classic.
• I prefer to run in the group, rather than in front of or behind the group. I felt most secure in my running when I was somewhere in the middle of our group. I kept imagining that I was tethered to the other girls I was running with and that there was no way I could be separated from them...this feeling really motivated me while running at the faster pace and I felt strongest while in the middle of the pack.
• I felt my best between mile 4 and 5
• The only sports drink I enjoy while running long is gatorade. I tried something new that they had on the course and it was pretty awful...unfortunately I filled my bottle with it and kept drinking.
• The last two miles were hard...The last mile was hardest. I began to fall back a bit from the pack and I felt the imaginary lines being cut. Being a little bit behind can quickly turn into being very much behind when you're tired, so I spent the last two miles trying to stay with the group and the last mile trying to catch up to the group. The last twenty minutes of the run was the longest and most difficult part for me.
  
• I did it!