Long Run + Dark, Quiet Office = Sleepy Andy

Today was week 6, day 3 of One Hour Runner, a 41 minute run. I took the time yesterday to make a new playlist and drank water all day. Even so, I woke up this morning feeling like I had taken a Tylenol PM to get to sleep. My head felt like a rock, my lips felt chapped and I could immediately tell that I was badly dehydrated. I decided to take some time before my run to relax and load up on water. One hour, three glasses of water and a slice of banana bread with cream cheese later, I headed out the door. Knowing that it would be my longest run yet, I started off slow, keeping the pace even and comfortable. I wound through my neighborhood, seeing other runners and walkers enjoying the cool morning. Every few minutes, my iPhone would chime in:

"5 minutes completed...10 minutes completed...15 minutes completed...20 minutes completed...Halfway point, 20 minutes 30 seconds remaining...15 minutes remaining...11 minutes remaining...6 minutes remaining...4 minutes remaining...3 minutes remaining...2 minutes remaining...1 minute remaining...Congratulations, you have reached your goal of 41 minutes."

And just like that, I set a new personal distance record of 4.11 miles. It's a far cry from the 13.1 miles that I'm signed up for in January, but toward the end of the run I really started feeling like I could go as far as I wanted to go. I really think that at this stage it's all about setting reasonable and manageable goals, and improving upon them continually. And right now, my goal is to stay awake all day. Or at least until my 12:00 meeting.