breaking 200

despite the rain and feeling incredibly discouraged from yesterday's disaster, i forced myself out for a run this afternoon. it had been threatening to rain all day, but hadn't and sure enough as soon as i started to get ready to go, the skies opened up. it was sort of warm (58 i think) so i put on my best "i'm a tough girl" face and left the apartment.

when i run on my own i use my handy new york sports club membership to store my stuff at the gym near the park on 73rd and cpw (that's central park west for the non-new-yorkers). its very convenient and worth the accusing stares of the people working the front desk who either a) think i am that much of a wuss that i leave 10 minutes after i arrive or b) know i'm just using them for storage.

i made a make-shift raincoat for my ipod out of a cut up ziplock baggie, because running 12 miles without music was just not going to happen today, and headed out. the rain was not terrible, but it was colder than i first thought, which is never nice because it takes that much longer for one's already stiff body to get limber.

the first three miles were awful awful awful. my shin splint hurt on my left leg. my it band hurt near my knee on my right leg. and my mind had a terrible case of "who are you kidding, you're never going to be able to run a marathon!"s. did i mention it was awful? usually when i'm doing distance i'm running with charlotte, so these thoughts, even if they are somewhere in my brain, never get to come to the surface and hang out because we're usually chattin' it up for the first few miles. when i'm by myself however, they are really very very pesky and evil creatures.

to get me through, i thought about steve, and all the pictures his mom sent me for the spirit tee. so cute! i thought about all of you who have been so supportive, not just by donating, but by really caring. you ask how training is. you read this silly blog of mine. you send me really thoughtful e-mails. i really DO take your words with me when i run. i need them (as you can see!). they keep me going when i might otherwise not be able to.

and along with all your encouragement, what i need to also remember is that i always feel like crap the first few miles. and i can't let it get to me so much. because even today, for all my little aches and pains, once i got somewhere between miles 2.5 & 3...i felt not just good, but really good. maybe even great. actually, i probably felt great around mile 5. what i'm trying to spit out is that i ended up have a really wonderful run today.

the rain stopped around mile 3 too, and i was left with a misty, slightly breezy, uncrowded, beautiful central park. fall is definitely my favorite season, and with the leaves drifting from the trees, across the paths, and the pavement almost shining under the lights, there were moments when i was all alone that were kinda magical. those are the kind of moments i have to hold on to during miles 0-3.

thank you for helping me run 200 miles.

today's mileage: 12
total mileage: 206.6