Inching the bar higher

Today I ran 6.5 miles. The farthest I've ever run... and the fastest, too.
Pace was 11.1 minutes per mile. The previous fastest was 11.9 (not counting the uncertain distance at Bayland). The previous longest distance was 4.5m. I blew that out of the water. Plus, I didn't walk a single step of the route. This week I'll run 4.5 as my shortest run and try and pack in a 10 miler over the weekend. Ideally I'll run at least 2 times during the week and at least 1 time over the weekend. If I hit my distance marks it'll count for about 20 miles. In the next few weeks it'll be 2 times at 6.5 and a much longer run on the weekend... 13+. We'll jump off that bridge in due time. I'm finally at the point where I really believe I can do this, rather than just repeating it so that I'll eventually believe it. Now, can I do it in 5 hours? We'll have to see.

The route I go isn't a loop. It's an "out and back" route where I go to a point, turn around, and follow the same route home. Along the route there are points where I know the distances... the foot bridge, cross streets, etc. These are the turn around points. The hardest part is the psychological points that are "natural pauses" on the route... where it turns, a water fountain, the park bench. Places where it's easy just to stop and quit. When I passed the turn around for the 4.5 mile route today it was a big accomplishment to push on to the 6.5m point. It was uncharted land. Of course, once I got to the 6.5m turn around, the realization that I had to go all the way back also hit me. I was farther away from home than I'd ever been while running.
So that got me to thinking about the kiddos--I think about them a lot when I run. I guess there comes a time in their lives when they pass a point that it's never been worse. The point where punishment becomes abuse. Where the abuse becomes life threatening. Where the safe haven is no longer safe. What happens then? Well, they go on until someone notices and they hit that turn around point where they realize they're farther away from home than they've ever been. That point is probably in protective custody of some kind.
It's at that point a Child Advocates volunteer steps into the picture. That volunteer serves as the guide to help that child get back home. They don't usually have a path to follow. They don't usually know how they got to where they are. They just know they're there and they're alone.
Help me help those children have a guide. www.childadvocates.org