Week 13 - Day 2: The Beauty of a 4 Mile Run

I love 4 mile runs. I believe that is my favorite distance, by far, to run. There is a certain natural beauty about running it that's hard to describe. You can do about anything you want with a 4 mile run. If you want to run hard and test your speed, it's not so long that you have to worry about not being able to finish if you start out too fast. Or, if you just want to stroll along slowly, it's not so short that you don't feel like you haven't had a workout when you're done. And if you're sick, or having a really bad day, or have tired legs from a previous workout, you can almost always gut-out 4 miles if you set your mind to it. 4 miles also goes beyond the standard "30 minute workout" on an eliptical or stationary bike. It gives you an extra 100 calories burned. If you're training for a 5k - it's perfect. If you're training for a marathon - it's a perfect "easy day" run. If you're training for a triathlon, it's perfect because you can run 4 miles and still have time to get a swim or a bike in before work. I love 4 mile runs. When I look on my training schedule, as I did today, and see "4 Miles", I get a warm-fuzzy feeling! I remember the first time I ever made it to 4 miles when I started running. It felt great then, and it feels great now - 2 years and many miles later. I have to say that I kinda look forward to the day when this marathon training has passed, and I can do 4 mile runs anytime I want.
So today I got to do a 4 mile run. And even though I love 4 mile runs, my mind played a trick on me this morning!!! The alarm went off at 4:40 as usual, and I got up and started towards to the bathroom when I realized I could barely walk on my right knee. There was a terrible pain going through it every time I put pressure on it. I limped around a few steps, and finally concluded that I must have some kinda knee injury and went back to bed. The second alarm then woke me up at 7 am; I got up, and the knee was fine!! LOLOLOL. Have you ever heard of such?! I told Michele and she said "Yep, you're mind didn't want to run at 5am so it made your body hurt!" I think that's right. Because when I went out and ran 4 miles at lunch today there was not even the slightest sign of pain in the knee. I felt great. My mind should be ashamed. What a nasty trick to play - especially on a 4 mile run day!!!