10 reasons why tomorrow's 10 miler is gonna rock my sweaty socks off

Since I am training for my FIRST half marathon and since I've never been a distance runner in the past, for the past few weeks every long run has meant a new personal distance record.  This means that every Sunday morning I am met with a big scary CHALLENGE.  But more importantly, this means that every Sunday morning I am met with a new opportunity to push myself and ultimately surprise myself.  6 miles felt wonderful.  7 miles felt fantastic.  (8 was skipped because of injury...).  9 miles was bliss.  But this week we are entering new territory...DOUBLE DIGITS.  eep!  Because I know how valuable optimism can be in training, I plan to psych myself up all afternoon/night for tomorrow's run, starting with this list of 10 reasons why it's going to be pretty much epic.

10. 10 miles at my snail's pace = almost 2 hours of uninterrupted time to rock out to some awesome dance tunes!  In a busy teacher's life, how often does THAT happen?  Note to self: do not attempt to dance on treadmill.

9. It's 9 miles more than what I once thought was the furthest I could ever run!

8. After this run, I have only 1 more long run on the (dread) treadmill!  Hopefully spring will decide to show its lovely face again soon!

7. 10 miles means breaking into double digits for the first time ever!

6. People who run 10 miles just sound badass.  "Oh, I just ran 10 miles.  No big deal." (Except if I attempt to say that right after, it will likely lose some of the effect as I will simultaneously be gasping for breath and cramming a granola bar in my mouth.)

5. I will be rewarded with a wonderful massage afterward.

4. License to bum around on the couch the rest of the day.

3. This run marks just 3 measley weeks until I get to run here: 

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2. This means I am just 3 miles away from half-marathon distance.  Whoa.

1. 10 miles = invincible me.

Let's hope I don't slice my mouth open on my gel again this week...cross your fingers for me!