Earning My Diploma

So, I've officially done it! Two months after completing my first 5K, I finished the Couch to 5K program. It feels pretty slammin'.

I intended to run today around my usual stomping grounds, my neighborhood pond. Once our out of town guests had gotten on the road, my husband suggested we bring the puppy to the local soccer field and let him run around. I decided to combine that with my run to save time and spend some quality minutes with two of my favorite guys (the third being my cat, Molson). North Carolina is having a bit of a cold spell these days, and it was only 29 degrees outside when we left. Much bundling ensued, as evidenced by the picture below:

I had an utterly fantastic run. It was by far the best one in ages. I ran around the soccer field while the puppy chased me, and it was wonderful. The grassy field felt awesome on my joints and was a nice change from my usual trail. I struggled a bit for the first 5-8 minutes with my lungs, but after that was a breeze. I feel I could've run for another hour, at least. I had to cut my run short by about 5 minutes because the puppy was getting antsy, but I left on such a high.  The last song that played on my iPod was "Someday" by Flipsyde, which is what I refer to as my "Rocky song." It's the song you play when you're tired and about to give up, and it completely reinvigorates you. I sprinted the last minute on sheer adrenaline and felt very much like my Blackbird self: "Someday, we're gonna break free from these chains and keep on flying."

So here I stand, official Couch to 5K graduate. I'd like to continue with my 30 minute runs for a while until I feel consistent with them, and then perhaps move on to the Gateway to 8K program. I can't wait for my next run.