learning self-control...

i'm home today. or, rather, not at work today. ian's day care decided they needed a five-day holiday weekend, so i have to pleasure of a mid-week full day with my boy. it's not often we get these outside of the weekend, and we're taking full advantage. ian's highlight? a new bike helmet. my highlight? lunch...

i did manage to get a good run in this morning, althought not the distance run outdoors that i've been wanting to do (but conveniently not getting around to). but it was kind of a breakthrough run for me nonetheless...

see, i have a difficult time monitoring the speed of my runs. i seem to feel i have to run - fast - for the run to be worth it. and the speed that i can't seem to restrain limits my ability to go for distance - which means my long distance to this point is seven miles, and i'm usually in the five-mile range for a "long" run...

but i realized last week, running with greenfish, that a slower cadence equals a greater capacity for distance. that if i run in the range of 9-minute miles rather than 7:30 miles, i can probably run for a much longer - and much more fulfilling - distance. i know this is preaching to the choir, i know it's common sense, but i just haven't been able to back off...

until today. today i didn't push it. i set the time on the treadmill, i ran at a moderate pace, and i felt i could go forever. and it's not that the overall distance was anything to write home about - but the feeling right now that i could actually go out for another run today or go for a long-distance run tomorrow is pretty rewarding...