Surprises

It's nice when you can just listen to your body and let it surprise you. I normally don't run two days in a row because I have bad knees, but I gave it a try this morning to see how I could hold up. I felt good starting out, didn't really care about pace but managed to stay around race pace (11:27/mile). I was only going to go 3 miles but when I got to 3 I was feeling good so I kept going. Then I was going to stop at 4, but I felt compelled to keep going. Finally I was sure I was going to stop at 5 miles, but just as I reached 5 miles Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" came on the ipod. You can't stop running when you're listening to that song. So I kept going, ended up doing 5 1/2 miles running and 1/2 mile walk cool-down. I could not believe I ran 5 1/2 miles! My previous longest run was 4 1/2 miles, and that was on a treadmill. This was not the only surprise.

- I didn't get a foot/calf cramp until about 5 miles. Usually this happens after 3 miles, if it happens.

- Not a single stomach cramp after running. Usually this happens within an hour, and can last for an hour or more. It always happens if I run more than 3-3 1/2 miles.

- I weighed before I got in the shower and I was at goal weight #2! I'm not counting this as my real weight since some of it is due to water loss from running, but it was cool to at least see that number since I haven't weighed that little since I was in elementary school (I was a fat kid).

So, I am very happy I went with my instincts and trusted my body. It knew what it was doing. I can tell I will feel it in my knees and quads tomorrow. But I don't have to run tomorrow!