there's a reason they call him coach

because believe it or not, he knows what he's talking about! (at least some of the time)

i'm not following a plan to get back in shape, i just head out and try to make the run-intervals a little longer than they were the day before. thursday evening, after another long (11hr) day of work, i ventured out for an 8pm run/walk.

i did my usual 1/4-mile warmup walk and started running, aiming for a 1.5-mi run interval. i reached 1.5 mi and felt good, so i kept going.

a little shy of 2-miles i felt a little tired, but i knew i could push to round out the mileage so i kept going. i reached 2 miles and felt better, so i kept going.

around 2.5-miles there were some people standing around a sketchy van, no way was i stopping. in fact i sped up a little here, just to be safe (it was dusky and i always let scary thoughts take over when i see sketchy strangers on a run). this made me more tired, but i kept going.

once i got to 3 miles (of non-stop running!) i was tired, but i wanted to see how long it took me to run a 5k and surely i could handle another 0.1. the 5k mark was in the middle of a short hill and i wouldn't allow myself to stop in the middle of it, so i kept going.

at this point i figured it wasn't much further to my 1/4-mile cooldown walk, so i kept going. the run finished on a hill that i normally dread, but on this day i enjoyed it. i had just run 3.85 miles without needing or wanting a walk break! as jon would say, it was epic.

surely that is how the 10% rule works, right? from 1.5-mile run intervals to 3.85-miles straight? don't worry running-moms, i will make sure my next run is a run/walk so that i don't overdo it.