6 miles, baby! This was the farthest I’ve ever run… and it was amazing.

Aaron and I ran along the Burke-Gilman Trail to Wallingford (nearly to my old apartment/the I-5 overpass) and back on a pleasant, partly sunny Saturday afternoon. We kept a comfortable, steady pace (10:29 average) — easy enough to chat, per Hal Higdon’s instructions — and we ran the entire time.

Just to recap: a) this was the farthest I’ve ever run; b) this was the first time that I’ve run for more than an hour; and c) we ran the entire time.

My legs felt a bit wobbly afterward, but the run felt amazingly good. Outdoor runs are far superior to treadmill runs for so many reasons, including fresh air, interesting scenery, cool breezes and a sense of going somewhere. I’ll look forward to these Saturday runs, even though they’ll be long — 7 miles for the next two Saturdays.

Not that the distance is a bad thing. I felt like I could have run 10 miles… or more. Conquering a new distance makes the 15K, half-marathon and marathon seem less intimidating.

I ran 20.5 miles this past week, including 10 miles in two days (Friday and Saturday). This is nuts. For the first time, I feel like a runner.

And it feels awesome.