Introspection

I originally planned to work in an off day on my birthday as I had work all day and wanted to allow some time in the evening to relax and get dinner with friends. However, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate 27 years than by doing a track workout. The last few times I did 3 x 1600, I was stuck in the 7:45s. Last night, my splits were 7:09, 7:23, 7:19. Granted, I started off a little too fast, but overall, my attempt at consistency is paying off. It may sound funny, but for the first time in my life, I feel in shape. A 7:15 pace felt like a 7:45 pace. What's even more exciting is knowing that there is still new territory to explore!

I did the workout at the Kent State Field house, about 5.5 laps for a mile. Each time I hit the backstretch, I looked up at the large monitor that displayed the date, 2/17/2010. For some reason, this inspired me to continue to push through each lap. I could have spent this day in so many other ways. What made me lace up my shoes when I could have been taking off my work shoes and falling to the couch? What made me want to put my body through discomfort when I could have been napping? What made me want to recover with water breaks instead of coming home to recover from work with a beer? (Though that does sounds good, too!)...

It was the idea of pushing my body to another level. It was to test my body's current level of fitness. It was to validate the last few months of cold runs in the snow at midnight or the boring treadmill runs without headphones or the sluggish runs after driving in a car for two hours. It was to watch my hot boyfriend run around in circles, too. And it was to splurge at dinner later that evening. But most importantly, it was to express my gratitude to be able to run, to continue to improve, and to have put in 27 healthy years. Here's to many more years and miles ahead...