Good. Better. Best.

Oh, today is a very good day, indeed. It was my first time running since my Saturday long run debacle, and I was anxious to see how I would do.

I'll jump to the end and say, I did great. I really, really had a great run.

The run was simple enough. I was scheduled to run a warm-up mile, four faster miles, and one cool-down mile. After Saturday's screwed up run, I was determined to strike the right balance between pushing myself and overdoing it. And I really got it right.

This was my scheduled pace for the six miles:

But at my third mile, I felt strong and I felt fast. And I thought, pfft, why not try to just get the run finished in less than an hour? So I decided to do it at this pace:

But something clicked in my head and I thought, come on, why not get a full 10K in the hour? I knew that I wold have to really step it up for the last two miles, and I did.

It's not easy knowing when "push yourself" becomes "too far," but I think it's worth trying to figure it out. I had an amazing run today and I feel very proud of myself for the extra effort. And this is the face of someone who pushed hard, kept going, and stepped up to the extra challenge.

It's a good day, indeed.