Lucky Number Seven

Well, I did it. Against all odds, even. Today, I ran 7 miles. My official longest run. I was fairly certain I'd never run 6 miles before, but I was not positive. I do know that - without a doubt - 7 miles has never ever once occurred.

So - let me back up for a moment. Thursday was my last run. It was 2.5 miles and ridiculously horrendous. I began at the gym, where I decided to change quickly and just run from there (outside) because I was again a little short on time and I just thought it would be easier. Logistically, it was easier. As far as the run itself goes, well, let's just say I was in so much pain for the entire run, I began to seriously consider taking a week or two off. Everything from my hips down ached, throbbed, and felt like it was going to burst. I am not exaggerating. It even hurt to walk, which believe you me, I tried to do on several occasions. I'm not exactly sure what was the matter, but I do know that my body was sending one of those loud and clear messages: SLOW DOWN.

SO, a few ibuprofen later, I decided that slowing down would be a good idea. I'd take off Friday - even for weight training - as well as Saturday. I decided when Sunday rolled around, I'd attempt a short run, but wouldn't push myself.

You now have all of the background info that made Today's run a complete shocker. I left the house around 6pm - as it was just about to get dark. I decided to run slowly at first to see how I felt, and make a decision as to the length of my run as soon as I could gauge the response from my legs.

I also mixed things up a little: Instead of heading North on the running trail, I went South in order to do the portion of my course that goes through a park first - before it got darker. Now, mind you I wasn't certain I'd be running that long, but just in case I was, I didn't want to be running through that park while dark outside. With my luck, I'd witness a drug deal just as it was getting busted and have to show up in court or something - and who has time for that? Certainly not me. So, running through the park before dark made perfect sense to me.

As I rounded the corners and exited the park, I found myself already at 24th and Hilyard Streets. This was probably about a mile and a half into my run and so far - so good. I decided to take a gamble - I headed East on 24th towards Agate St. I reasoned that if I began to experience a large amount of pain, I'd turn back around and go straight back to my house.

As I ran down 24th, I began to feel great. I also became very aware that I had no idea how long I'd been running. I felt so good, stopping for a stretch/walk break hadn't occurred to me. I tried not to look at my watch, but I couldn't stop obsessing over it since I'd realized I hadn't looked yet. Funny how the mind tends to do that to a person.

As I neared Agate, I couldn't take it anymore. I looked, and I'd been running about 20 minutes. Not too bad. A couple of miles down, only 4 or 5 more to go, if I chose the path I was on, and only 2 back home. I still felt great, so what the heck - I went for it.

Now - what transpired over the next mile is crucial, and quite unlike me. As I closed in on the campus, I began to feel GREAT. Like I could run forever. Like I was really transforming my perspective on this running thing. Like I may, after this is all over, become a runner.

Feeling like a million bucks, I passed Hayward Field, the UO Law School, the UO dorms, and arrived at 13th and Agate Streets. Here I turned and headed into campus. As I entered the well-lit (dark by now), tree-lined streets, something magical happened: "Round Here" by The Counting Crows began piping in my ears. Now - keep in mind that when things go well on a run, I get a little sentimental. During my freshman year of college at Ohio University, nearly everyone who lived in my hallway (heck - probably everyone on campus) had that Counting Crows CD. At any time of the day, someone was playing it. Anyway - when it comes on, I instantly go back to 18 years old and Ohio University.

As I ran through campus, I began to count the ways in which my life has changed and how I have changed as a person in the past 14 years. It's amazing, really. This trip down memory lane had quickly brought me to the edge of campus and I was faced with a huge decision: Should I keep going and make this a 6 mile run? Should I do another campus loop to add a mile and make it 7? Should I keep in the spirit of my freshman year of college and find a couple of friends to grab a pizza and a beer?

As you may have guessed, I chose to run another loop and add a mile to my journey. I was stoked. I love to see the progress unfold right before my legs. I realized that I am 100% in control of making the decisions that will invariably decide if I follow through and run this marathon or not. I am glad to know my first real test - even with temptations - was passed with flying colors.

At this point, I had been running about 40 minutes. Once I left campus and headed down 13th towards Patterson, a sea of college students were around me - finishing dinner and grabbing a coffee to no doubt give them a few more hours of awake time - much needed to finish the assignments they didn't do over the weekend.

As I turned onto Patterson, I noticed that I was really moving - quicker than I had been for the entire run. I gained a lot of ground in a short amount of time and before I knew it, I'd made my way back to 24th and was heading towards Willamette. Because of the darkness, I didn't take the bark trail. It's well lit but it is along a wooded area and I was a not about to test my ability to out run a crazy person.

I realized as I ran up the hill towards my house that I had only taken one walking break - after I'd been running for 51 minutes. This was more in order to decide which route to take home than anything. A couple of days of resting really helped my legs recover and helped my cardio endurance, too. Or at least it would seem so. I did experience a small aggravation behind my left knee. It occurred just as I began to run after that walking break. Nothing serious, but noticeable. I was able to adjust my running stride and work it out.

The learning experience from Today's run in itself is both a confidence boost, as well as humbling. I am (what??) actually looking forward to those longer distance runs as I work up to the half marathon.