8 of 10's not too bad, right?

So, the alarm rang at 5:00 am this morning and I was up and going.

All my running mess was laid out with my long sleeve shirt t-shirt laid strategically on top so I could read, "Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard to find alloy called guts," off the back of the shirt. (Nothing like your ratty old shirt from track regionals junior year to get you motivated.)

I had a granola bar, geared up, and hit the road. It was all so exciting! It was dark! I was out when I shouldn't be! (Did I mention that my husband was not informed of this little adventure. I left a note on the counter in the unlikely event that he might wake up before I returned.) The streets were empty!

Well, that lasted about half a mile.

My body did not know what the heck was going on. It has never been summoned to run so early. (I've been up to drive to a race that early- but never actually running an hour before sunrise.) I was slow, tight, and not quite in the right mindset.

My second goal, after getting up and out the door, was running out to see the opening of the new McDonalds. (What else is there to see at 5 am on a Thursday? It just worked out so ironically perfect that my first early morning run ever coincided with the first morning of our town's second McDonalds opening. Because we really need another fast food restaurant for the most unhealthy county in the state, right?)

It wasn't that impressive. It was just a McDonalds. There was only one truck in the drive-through. I guess I expected a huge crowd lined up to be the first.

McDonalds aside, the first six miles were somewhat uninspiring. It wasn't miserable- just slow and kinda off. I had to stop and stretch a couple times and quickly realized 10 wasn't happening and decided to aim for 9.

Well, at about 6.5, things got ugly. I was going through downtown for the second time and my stomach suddenly brought me to a forced walk. I had to make a pit stop at the local gym and that put me further behind schedule.

After that, the sun was finally fully out and I actually felt good. By then, I only had enough time to finish 8, but considering the circumstances, I counted that as a good effort.

I didn't really feel any different throughout the day. No more or less energized, stressed, tired, or accomplished. My day was so packed though that I don't think any start could have made much of an impact.

So...the big question: Am I a morning running convert? Short answer- no. According to my 101 in 1001 list though, I've got 14 more times to try it out before I make up my mind though.