Double Digits

Just banked my first 10-mile run this year. Started after the rain, finished just before a torrential downpour. Time was 1:22:56 (8:18 pace). Felt strong for about 8 miles, then was kind of dragging the last 2. That gave me a good opportunity to concentrate on maintaining good form and foot turnover. Back straight, shoulders back, head up...all that good stuff. Five months ago, I was only running 1 mile, three days a week, so this is VERY encouraging. My knee and IT band held up well, which is also VERY encouraging. It's becoming obvious that I don't have too many gears, but I can hold a decent pace for a long time. I suppose part of that comes with age (as a distance runner, anyway). I still want to work on some speed just to sharpen up a bit before the 5k next month, so this will probably be my last long run before then. It was really enjoyable, though, so I'm anxious to start building up the mileage later this year.