"Just" five miles

I ran five miles today, the farthest I have ever run. If you had told me a year ago that I would be running five miles and have signed up to run a half marathon, I'd have laughed at you, perhaps rolling on the floor while doing it. So now I've done the distance, I will head to Richmond to do an 8K race with Buildermama in a couple of weeks.

I've learned a lot about running: The first time at a distance is always the hardest. The first mile generally stinks (this is my theory on why I've never done it before). Some days, leaving the house may be the hardest part of the run. My worst runs are at races, I don't want to compete but it would be nice not to send my heart rate into the stratosphere and feel like crap. Some days running feels good and empowering, some days running is a battle of the mind over the body. The best part of running is almost always being done and feeling like you've really accomplished something!