I like this part right here

At some point in a running life you have to wonder, will this ever just be natural? As in, will waking up in the morning and putting on your shoes be as easy as brushing your teeth before bed?

I dont think Im there yet. Its only been 10 (successful) days and Im really going strong, but I think it will take more time than this. Thats not to say it hasnt gotten a whole lot easier to get on the road. Used to be Id need some mental convincing, gearing myself up for getting off the internet and going for a run. That hard descision when youve got an hour before you need to leave for work and you really just want to watch Netflix.

Now, however, its getting easy. I know that I need to go for a run so I budget the time into my life. I know I want to read my favorite blogs/forums and shop for car parts, but I also really want to run. I am planning better and getting into a good head space about everything running.

Today was a short distance day, not because I needed it to be but because I dont want to burn myself out. The last three runs Ive done have all been around 7 miles. Those are not HUGE runs, all under an hour, but I want to pace myself a bit more so I dont kill my legs or my ambition.

Today was a testing day, 2+ miles just around the neighborhood with no music, sunglasses or my watch. Just me, a long sleeve tee, running shorts and my shoes. I couldnt have been happier.

I started out very fast, like 80% speed fast. I wanted to get a feeling for what it was like to over run my legs and lungs an to do that I knew I needed to really run. Since I wasnt keeping track of my time I really cant tell you how fast my first mile came up. I know that my natural pace is roughly 8min/mile and I know I was really pushing hard. I would assume I was running a 6min pace and it felt amazing. When I reached my 'jogging' point I was winded but not ruined, my legs were warm and I didnt need a break at all. I slowed my pace to a more natural rhythm and ran about a mile more. I picked my 'sprint to home point' and this is where I really got trashed. It was only about a 1/4mile but I sprinted hard, I mustered up all my remaining juice and went for it. Much the way you do when you can see the finish line, you pull out all the stops.

I feel really good about today. It was a nice short run that got me running much harder than normal helping me have a better understanding of what it would be like to really push during a race. I want to do some more testing with a 5K course around the neighborhood and run a 6min 1st mile, 8min 2nd and finish the distance back at 6min. If I can get down to a roughly 20min 5K I think I will be in a very good place for my half marathon.