Feb 23 — Holy ****!

Holy sh*t. Today’s run was kind of crazy. It was my run day in my split, and I was hoping I’d be able to run 3 miles. With how difficult the 3 miles on Monday were, I was hoping I’d be able to just match it without using the sides of the treadmill as support for any of it, maybe run 3.5 miles if I was feeling great. I also ran just a bit after I woke up, which isn’t my normal time frame. I was a bit stressed about how much to eat and how to time it right. I kept it simple, a couple slices of toast with some honey, and waited a little more than half an hour before heading to the gym.

When I hopped on the treadmill, it took a while to settle in, but around the 2 mile mark I realized I felt pretty good and was probably going to be able to hit 3.5 miles. I did that, and honestly still felt great, so I kept going. It was cool to see the flip side of listening to my body here, not stopping earlier than I wanted to, but running longer than I thought I’d be able to. At 4 miles, I realized it probably wasn’t a good idea to run too much more, even though I felt like I could, so I decided I’d call it at 4.5 miles, if I could make it that far. I also realized that this was my last run day until the 1 year anniversary of my injury, which happened on February 26, or 2.26. So I decided I’d double that, and run 4.52 miles. I was really shocked that I was able to do so, but beyond thrilled.

I honestly do think I could have gone further and kept running, but since the last maximum distance I had ran was 3 miles, anything more felt like I was pushing it way too far. When everything was said and done, with my cool down, I ran and walked over 5 miles in 65 minutes. I definitely didn’t think I had that in me already, so that was beyond awesome. I’m definitely starting to experience moments of runners high, although I think they might be more induced by what I’ve gone through than the run itself, but those are really cool. As I got to the end of my cooldown, I definitely noticed that my legs felt heavy, not in an injury-related way, but in a wow it’s not easy to pick them up because they’re very tired. I made sure to stretch extra well after my run, something I’m definitely guilty of not always doing right, but after running 4.5 miles I knew I had to. I sent one of my really good friends the picture of the treadmill screen at the end of the run, and her response of “Straight up elite behavior gawd damn,” made me laugh, but also made me realize how far I’d come. I still definitely favor my right leg a bit, but it’s not intentional and I feel like the extend of the imbalance is decreasing. Knowing that this is probably my last long run before break, and I’m probably hardly going to be working out over break, I’m very happy with myself and what I’ve accomplished. 

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