Long Run

So...
Yesterday morning was the long run that I had to do if I plan on finishing Broad Street feeling somewhat normal, and with some of my dignity remaining. I did 8.3 miles. It was a beautiful morning--about 38 degrees (well, 38 in Philly, in the burbs where I am it was probably closer to 35, but who's counting?). Sunny, bright, beautiful Palm Sunday. Saturday is poured, so I opted to climb out of bed at 7:00 on Sunday. That would give me time to run, get back, have a wonderful breakfast, in to church, and then get to the shopping date I had. It was a much better run than I thought it would be, the type that I finish and think a marathon goal is reasonable (although i couldn't imagine turning around and doing the same distance two more times after I was finished).

I have this infatuation with Sean-Paul's song Temperature, and while that is not normally the type of music I listen to, it is the kind of song you can't stop listening to. So I found myself running to the Top 40 Countdown just to hear this song (and learned that the Top 40 really has good running-beat songs). It really kept me going, which, again, was a surprise.

Towards the end, someone stopped me (they were walking the other direction) and said they saw me start out, and did I know the different distance points along the way? The run was an out-and-back course, so I knew the 3-mile point, 4-mile point, and 5-mile point, and was pretty damn proud of myself for sounding like a runner. :-)

All in all, if Sunday's run is any indication, Broad Street shouldn't be quite the torture I expected it to be...but this weekend is 9, so we'll see then!