The extra mile

Alas, today was not the easy day I had expected! I came home from school early today, walked the mile to my house, and subsequently went to walk my dog with my mom. This may not seem like much, but with my first two mile of the season in spikes still fresh on my calves, I felt even that small amount of activity. Nonetheless, upon walking into the locker room I heard that despite expectations of a thirty minute easy run topped off with a relaxed soccer game, we actually ot to run the expected thirty minutes... Plus track intervals. Yes, you heard it correct, intervals the day after our first outdoor meet. I was overjoyed. That was sarcastic. The workout consisted of a 900, a 600, a 300, another 600, and a final 900 at varying versions of our goal mile race pace. Ultimately the last 900 was cut out of pity, thank goodness. My sore calves felt like heck during the shorter intervals, but the 900 actually felt amazing. That feeling is one of the biggest pull factors that keeps me coming back to the track. Running is hard. Obviously, but truly, it is a tremendous mental and physical challenge. The satisfaction then comes from owning your body and mind and pushing it to be it's best. I've said this before but it is such an integral part of my training process, to feel this pride and contentment, so I always feel the need to reiterate. But what people often overlook is the fact that running can be fun. Shocked? Think again. Post workout today I felt the typical rush of giddy energy. Carly Rae Jeosen was rocking it out in the locker room and, as usual, began to dance. I was joined by four of my teammates and we spent 15 minutes rocking out. No description necessary. When it comes down to it though, the girls I run with get close to me in a unique way. They've seen me at my lowest and highest and kept me going when I wanted to give up, and we'll always have a deep understanding of eachother that can't be replicated. And since it's a Friday night, I'm going to leave it at that! Cheers to friendship and teammates!