Major milestones

Last Sunday, I finally achieved what seemed impossible a year ago. I broke my ten-minute mile.

I rolled in at 9:51 on the treadmill. And there was much excitement!

After such a huge milestone, I had planned to take an easy week. Runs on Tuesday and Thursday, maybe, with a long run Saturday. This strategy of alternating easy and hard weeks has led to some fantastic breakthroughs over the past month.

But as is so often the case, life got in the way. A different work schedule knocked me out of commission for the week, and it was Saturday before I knew it.

A little rest is a good thing. Too much rest is a miserable thing.

I knew that coming back from a whole week off would be difficult, so why not make it as difficult as possible? This called for a long run, on empty.

As Runner's World explains here, there are sensible training reasons for running on empty, increased efficiency and higher percentage of fat burning chief among them. Forcing the body to make this leap, however, is no walk in the park for me. Frankly, it sucks.

Which is exactly what I was looking for.

I pounded out five miles on the treadmill in 1:04:48, a new PR by a scant sixteen seconds. It was exhausting and strenuous, one of those runs where I checked my progress after what seemed like an eternity and I hadn't even made it halfway. It was a character building run.

Sometimes, running is about enduring. And I endured.

Post-run, I hit the scale. My last weigh-in was a beautiful, shining 190. After months in the low-190s, it was a welcome sight. I wasn't sure where my weight would be after a stressful, athletically-careless week, so I winced when I stepped up, telling myself that if it said 192 I would be forgiving.

And it said 186.

Just like that, I'd lost 50 pounds. Not just 50... 52. I know it isn't magic, that this is hard work. The process can be devastating, and there are times when I feel lost in it all. But when I see these results, real results, I nevertheless find my success incomprehensible.

Here I am, claiming it. I've worked hard for this. I have reached - passed - the halfway point of my weight loss.

I did this.