4-Mile Magic

I did it. I ran the whole thing...four miles last night.

I left work about 4:45 because I wanted to run before it was dark (I was by myself this time). I turned up my "pump up" music (a.k.a. Timbaland) really loud and on my way over to La Llorona, I decided I would try and go for the four mile mark. I never know from one day to the next how I will feel when I strap on my iPOD and start jogging. Some days I feel like I can't get a breath, the next I will run and run and run and not be tired, but yesterday I knew it was the day I could go as far as the sun would allow.

The first mile was difficult....daunting. But I cranked up Avril Lavigne and kept going. The next half mile went by like a breeze, but it helped that the sunset was making the Organ Mountains glow in an orange-y, purple kind of color and my mind was solely on the beauty of the landscape. I thought about how moving away from here would make me miss the unique beauty of the Southwest and by the time I was done daydreaming, I passed under the I-10 bridge, well on my way to the two-mile turn around point. I crossed over a irrigation ditch, with cold, running water and made it to the two-mile mark without much thought. When I turned around to go back, halfway to my goal, I took a deep breath and celebrated a little in my head.

The next mile sailed by. I had enough stamina to truly run without thinking about my breathing, although my foot hurt (stress fracture in my middle toe)...I was not going to give up on this milestone. The last mile was easy, too...all I could think about was getting back to my car to call my friends and family to tell them I was finally making progress.

I have to admit, when I finished and passed the "4-mile" marker, I jumped up and down waving my arms like Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky."

It's not huge in the scheme of things, but successfully completing those four miles did more for me than 1,000 compliments ever could. The sense of accomplishment is outstanding and now I truly knows what it is like to feel invincible.

Only 22 more to go...