How many miles?

W00t! another milestone achieved!

Tonight I celebrate a literal "mile"stone, I ran 4 miles today which is the furthest I have ever gone without stopping in these 45 years. It was a good running day - I had a good breeze for most of the run. I also had great distractions.

In the middle of this track was a soccer field and a group of about 8 boys between 8 and 12 years old were practicing. There were no adults around supervising, just kids trying and doing an admirable job of being organized - sure there were moments of individual chaos, but those were short lived as the olders made the youngers toe the line. there were whoops and hollers, teasing and cajoling, cheering and jeering. All in a raucous preadolescence that was wonderful to witness.

At about the 12'th lap a father and son wandered out on to the track from a yard that adjoins the school property. I'm thinking the dad had recently helped his son discover the rudiments of two wheel travel, and the little boy - maybe 5-6 - was exuberantly pedaling around the track, finally rid of those dratted training wheels, he was free! He passed me in a flurry of activity and determination, then a pit stop where dad adjusted the seat and he was off again.

At the 14th lap (3.5 miles) I was through convincing myself that I should stop and I was actually in a "zone" where my mind was not as concerned with my legs and breath- I was more focused on my average MPH which was 5.0 at the moment, but I was running 4.6. I picked it up a bit - up to 5.5-5.7 and my heart rate started spiking into the 160s, but I was not straining, I was comfortable as my heart was pumping all the blood I needed. so during the last quarter lap I stretched out my stride and grunted across the line to stop at 4 miles.