I did my first 9 mile run a couple of mornings ago, which is a big deal for me, as it is my furthest run thus far. I can't say that I actually enjoy running yet, but I dislike it less than I did before. If nothing else, it gives me some good time to think and get outside. And it's a great place to listen to new tunes! It keeps your mind off the actual, you know, running part of it...

I finally gave up carbonated drinks/caffeine at the beginning of this summer, which, if you know me, is a fairly big deal, cause I was hooked! (There are probably multiple instances in the archives of this blog where I claimed I was going to "give 'em up soon, I promise" and never did...). Anyway, getting over Coke and Dr. Pepper made a huge difference in my energy level and general feeling of well-being; I didn't realize how much they were weighing me down (literally). I lost more than 5 pounds just by giving up soft drinks. While I can't claim that I won't have any ever again - probably just as a special treat instead - it was one of the wisest decisions I've made in a long time, and I just feel so much healthier.

9 miles wasn't particularly as difficult as I expected. I started about 6:45am and finished around 8:10am, somewhere around 85 minutes, which is not incredibly fast (just under a 10 minute mile), but in going for distance I wasn't too worried about speed. At 6:45am it was nice and cool outside, and my first 4.5 went by without much difficulty, and I decided I'd just go for the next lap: why say "I'll just stop at 8" when 9 is only 1 mile more? The goal of being able to do a half marathon suddenly does not seem all that far off!