9-miler

Today me, Steph, and Ari did 9 miles, which is the longest run we've done since cross country season. We ran up Comm Ave to the end of the cemetery after the BC gates, and it was a good run. 

It actually felt surprisingly easy for me. We were trying to go slow, but ended up with about a 9:15 pace, and even that felt slow to me. It was blazin' hot out - nearly 90 degrees, and Steph wanted to go no faster than 10 minute miles. Well, so much for that plan! I think I am in much better shape than I initially thought. This run and the "fun run" are two recent indicators of my fitness. Neither run killed me. I find it ironic that we tried so hard to go slow today, but still ended up with a decent pace. Not fast by any means, but faster than I thought we were going.

That said, I'm really psyched for summer training and more importantly XC '09! I really want this to be a break out season for me. I finally feel like I have a few good years of solid, consistent training under my belt to really push my limits. I only started cross country my junior year of high school, and a lot of people I know have been running since middle school. I think it definitely makes a difference in how I think of and approach the sport. I've slowly been overtaken by the love of running, and I keep finding new things I love about it. I'm not burnt out by running 3 seasons of track for all 4 years of high school like some people are once they get to college. Running is fresh and new to me lately, and I can see my mindset towards it changing.