This week I picked up a new client that requires me to be on-site at their office during regular business hours.  That means I will have to train like a regular employed person as opposed to sneaking it in during the day whenever I want.  A definite buzz kill on the fun meter, but one does need to eat, provide shelter, and clothe the family.  Thus, this morning I was out the door and hitting the pavement at 5:11AM.

The early hour start also coincided with my desire to attain my first 10 mile run since February.  I have been escalating the run slowly up to a recent 8.5 miles with tragically slow per minute mile averages.  Today, I really wanted to get double digits under my feet to continue to fill that confidence tank at least with mileage if there is no speed to speak of.  With less than 4 weeks to go, and very little time behind me for run training due to the foot injury, I needed this reassurance.

I am happy to report that the darkness of the morning treated me well.  As the sun rose, I hit the button on the Garmin showing 10.35 miles had been covered.  Slowly covered, but covered just the same for a check mark in the W column.

I was also pleased that the first 8 miles were relatively comfortable running.  Those last two did pose a bit of a challenge to the legs though.  Still, it was a giant leap forward from the first run after four months less than four weeks ago.