A good way to end the week

Two days left in the month. But realistically, only one day that I would be able to sneak in a run.

And I was 5 miles short of reaching my DailyMile challenge goal of 40 miles in October.

So after work tonight I headed over to the YMCA. I wanted to sneak in the run outside since it was in the 60s, but it was super windy and almost dark by the time I left the office. So indoors and the treadmill it was going to be.

I snagged a treadmill - amazing, there were about 3 people including myself in the cardio room, must have been the whole 5:45 on a Friday night thing - and started running. I had that magic number 5 dangling in front of me, but I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it. Earlier this week I had this nagging ache in my groin area, but tonight it wasn't there. So my thoughts were, 3 for sure, 4 probable and 5 just might be doable.

I ran.

I kept a steady pace at first. Knocked out the first mile in 11 minutes flat and notched up the speed a bit for miles 2 (10:26) and 3 (10:19). I was still essentially alone at the YMCA and still feeling good, so I notched up the speed some more and kept running. I hit mile 4 at 9:59. There was still about 2 minutes, 30 seconds left on the timer for the treadmill, so I pushed it. I think I was at a 6.5 mph speed. But you know what? It felt like a good sprint. A comfortable sprint. A sprint like I pulled out at the end of the Freaky 5K last weekend.

When the timer flipped to 45 minutes, I had gone 4.35 miles. But I still felt good. And all that was standing between me and my first 5-mile run since 2007 was a lousy 0.65 of a mile.

I hit reset. Started running again. Still kept it at a decent pace. Finished the last mile in 9:29 and the entire run in 51:03.

And when I was done? I felt good. Not like I was going to die (which is what I was worried about). But good and glad that I logged the miles.

Granted 3 hours later my legs are starting to feel a little achy and I'm a tiny bit worried what they're going to feel like in the morning - you wouldn't want super sore legs either if you had to navigate football stadium stairs like I'll be doing at Camp Randall when the Badgers take on Purdue tomorrow. But I'm happy I did it.

And while I completed the 40 miles in October challenge over at DailyMile, I technically only ran 35.7 miles in October. For some reason the kind folks at DailyMile decided to count the 4.3 miles I logged on Sept. 30 in my October challenge totals. I'm not arguing though.

But 35.7 miles. That's by far my best month so far this year. Makes me happy that I think I've found that running bug again. And tonight's run? Made me realize that I can sign up for the 5-mile Turkey Trot instead of the 2-mile option and not be worried about finishing.

I'd say it was a good Friday.

*******

Time is running out, but swing by Tall Mom on the Run. She's got this amazing Brooks for Her Giveaway. If you like pink, this stuff's for you and it supports a good cause.

Brooks created the Brooks for Her (BFH) collection to help support the fight against breast cancer. For each BFH piece purchased from March through December 2009, Brooks will donate 6.25% of the suggested retail price to three organizations that research and support those affected by breast cancer: The Young Survival Coalition, Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, earmarked for breast cancer research. Learn more about the three selected charities, how BFH works and see the Brooks For Her collection.