We're 10 days away from Christmas now, and things are as hectic as ever at this point. But I'm still finding ways to fit in my daily run every day! I cut it pretty close last night though - I went out shopping right after work, and because I was so far behind on my Christmas shopping, I just kept going from store to store, not really realizing what time it was. Suddenly I'm in the checkout line at Target, and their announcing that they're closing in 10 minutes. Wait - what?!?! But Target closes at 11:00pm this time of year. No.... First of all, I couldn't believe I was one of THOSE people - the people who are there when the employees are trying to close the store. Especially when the store is open until 11:00pm. Ridiculous. I felt terrible. On top of that, it was 11:00pm, I was still in the store almost half an hour from home, and I hadn't run yet!
I drove home as fast as I could while still being safe, got changed into my running clothes, and was standing on the treadmill by 11:50pm. I opted to only run 1 mile (since it was almost midnight), and although I didn't FINISH my run before midnight, I had started it before midnight, and to me, that counted as my Friday run. The thought crossed my mind that technically I didn't run a whole mile on Friday, but this Holiday Running Streak wasn't about the technicalities of a couple minutes. I could have easily came home at 11:45pm last night and just said forget it; it was too late; I was tired from a long day of work and fighting holiday crowds and traffic. But I didn't. I put on my running shoes and got on the treadmill at 11:50pm to run my mile for the day. And that's what it's about. For me at least.
And today I accomplished another personal goal of mine. Even after another long day of shopping (at least I slept in today), I came home and ran again. It wasn't nearly as late as Friday, and I was deciding between 3 or 4 miles. I started running and just decided to make the choice depending on how I was feeling as I approached the 3 mile mark. I was feeling pretty good, and I was running at a really good pace, so I kept on going. I'd been working on improving my 4 mile time and had been closing in on the 36:00 mark, but I couldn't quite get to 36:00 yet. 36 minutes would have meant 9 minute miles. When I first started running and was running 2 miles, my pace was around 14:00 or 14:30 per mile. So I'd been more than thrilled when I got down to about 10 minute miles or a little under. To me, that was fantastic. I know to runners that 10 minute miles are probably on the slow end, but it was a threshold I'd been aiming for as a personal validation of myself as a runner. So when I reached that goal earlier this summer and was comfortable there, I think I stopped pushing myself as hard. But I recently started pushing again, and have been closing in on the 9 minute mile mark. Today, I hit that mark. I finished my 4 mile run in 35:53. Yes, it was on the treadmill, so there's some doubt about whether I could do that outside on my own. But for now, I'm okay with that. I want to rejoice in my own little personal victory for a bit. I stood there on the treadmill, walking for my cool-down, thinking about the fact that I'd just run 4 mile at a pace under 9 minutes per mile. 9 minutes. To be honest, that was something I never thought I'd see. 10 minute miles had been a huge victory in my mind. And I guess I'd thought that would be the end of it. So to accomplish this, even if it was inside on a treadmill, was pretty big for me.
Forget the fact that I could already feel my muscles were sore while I was still on the treadmill cooling down. I'll just have an easier run tomorrow, and rejoice in my victory a little longer. For now, I'm heading to bed. Off to dream about my lightning fast speed. Haha! Maybe someday! :o)
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