Street lights and memories

Having pulled the trigger on the inaugural Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon, this morning meant following the couch to 10k I was looking at and going out for 2 miles.  (What?  It's at the beginning of June so I have 7 months to train....)  So by 6:15 I had laced up, donned running tights and layered up for the 34* temp and headed out the door and was... surprised.

Since developing plantar fasciitis last year, I have been scared to run.   Sure walking through the hills in Brookline with November Project (no longer mistaken for the band) and a couple of trial runs let me know that yes, it is OK, to run but the memory still lingers.  So this morning was surprising.

We're at that time of year when it's dark out at 6 in the morning, so unless I wear a miner's light when I run, I run the sidewalks of my community by street lights and memories of where the potholes are: Cross the street here because there will be a puddle over there after yesterday's rain; the utility doors on the ground will be slick and shiny; the curb cut by the high school should be covered in a wet, muddy goo like always....  You know, the sorts of things people who run know about their routes.

I had intended to walk the bulk of today's route but then muscle memory and Irish punk took over and wound together with the sidewalk hazard thoughts to keep me moving.  From the second my feet started moving, they moved along at a jog for 3/4's of a mile.  I walked to the one mile point and two things happened.  First, as I did a quick mechanics check (and yes Nini, my right ankle was barking through the compression socks so I will have to KT tape and do strength work), a rabbit hopped along with me for a bit.  Rabbits are always a sign that I'm on the right track for some odd reason... don't ask why because it's something that started a while back and then just became that sign.  Then Flogging Molly's "Devil's Dance Floor" came on which started my feet moving and I didn't stop until I got to my traditional walk to cool down spot a quarter mile from the house.

Two miles at a 15 minute pace... wow.  There are many people who think they walk faster, and they probably do, but given a half mile of that running was walking, I'm quite happy with that test run this morning.  Tomorrow will be walking and there will probably be a run Thursday and a "long" run of 3 miles on Sunday - which coincides with a 5k I forgot I signed up for in fever pitch of frenzy with the November Project/Boston Brunch Runner folks.

Today said, "I can do this" and, at least for today,  I believe I can.