Run #31 - Nine Miles, What? What?

Wow - how cool does it feel to add new distances to my running resume?? I'm so dang tired and hungry right now, so this might be a short post. I have blogger's block - I made that up - I think. Of course I thought I made up the phrase of "sexting" and then it went global. I've been on a quest to bring "Rad" back into our normal vocabulary for a few years now. So anyway, watch out - you'll see "blogger's block" as the next big "It" phrase!

Anyway, what? 

First off, I was beyond excited to go out in January in a tank top and skirt! Six miles later I was not happy about the chaffing from said skirt. Lesson learned! I think it will be saved for shorter summer runs, but no more long runs! The first 5K was hard. I'm not gonna lie! I stopped quite frequently on this run to massage my calves. They were ridiculously tight and didn't want to do anything. After loop number one I paused to fill up my water bottle, and refresh myself. From there it was a totally different run!

I clearly didn't bother to look pretty for this one!

I did pause for a while to watch a situation with a man and his two dogs. The dogs were both small and trying to play with each other. He ended up dropping the leash of the puppy and continuing through the park with the other dog. I couldn't leave until I knew everything was going to be resolved. So I pretended to stretch while watching. The poor dog was spinning in circles trying to get untangled while the owner would occasionally turn and whistle for it to come. Finally I said enough is enough. I ended up going over to the puppy and untangling it so it could try to catch up to it's owner. I really wanted to just keep it. We could have outrun the owner without breaking a sweat!

Another thing that bothered me on this run was during my third and final loop. During the first two passes they weren't there, but on trip number three someone had placed Playboy magazines up against some trees for all to see. I guess it made me uncomfortable because someone had done it between my trips through that area and as someone that thinks every man is a serial killer, I felt a little uneasy.  I was thankful when an older couple walking the path picked them all up and disposed of them. I mean enjoy your magazines, fine, but don't prop them up in the middle of a popular place where people of all ages hang out and feed the ducks. End of rant.

My final mile felt fabulous! I think today was just a mental battle that I overcame, and a minor physical battle that I also overcame. I think I am loving the final mile of each new distance because I get a high just knowing that I am doing something new and getting one step closer to the ultimate goal of 13.1!

Stats:
9 miles today
1:37 for an average pace of 10:49
18 miles for the week - highest ever
71.7 miles for January - highest ever
71.7 miles for 2011 ..... 322 for 2010? Ha! 2011 is going to kick ass!!