Running, working out: Day Uno

Not sure if it's the weather or the fact that I haven't ran in about 2 weeks, but today I barely did a mile and a half and I was very dissappointed. Perhaps its because I have switched from a treadmill (with a steady pace and a steady flow of tv watching) to the streets of NW portland with hills, stops, lights and traffic. Usually 2-3 miles is no big deal to me, but actually seeing how far I've run, seems to get in the way of getting through the run. I keep focusing in my head "wow, I've gone so far" but by using the handy www.mapmyrun.com website to actually log and figure out the miles I will run . . . it's really barely a mile when I get antsy. Not until I ran a 10k on 5 de Mayo did I realize how far 6.3 miles really was. It was quite an accomplishment really, running 6.3 miles in under an hour. I've never done anything like that, and my naive self thought it was no sweat because I really didn't *know* how far that was. I guess ignorant is bliss in times like that, because now? I'm extremely intimidated my the miles I think I should be running and the miles don't end up running. So the solution? I've got a gym membership again. Now with the fall quietly knocking on summer's door for a slow switch out, I realize it's time to be indoors to do most of my work out and hit the treadmill among other things. I still hope to run 5-10ks through the rest of the year, and my goal would be to do the run in 10k up in Canada around my birthday. It looks absolutely beautiful and really, I do love to run outside, but unfortunately now, I'm just too focused on how much I'm running rather than just letting my body tell me how much I can run.
So todays 1.6 miles was a bit of a disappointment, but at least I ran, right? There is something exhilirating about getting up so early, running and coming home to wash yourself clean, like a daily cleansing of unwanted, guilty calories.
Tomorrow? Hit the gym, do some weights. That is the goal . . . gotta stick with it. Not sure if I mentioned it but I look forward to the Run Like Hell 5k, http://www.terrapinevents.com/run-like-hell.htm. Hopefully my 12 year old nephew would like to join me. Someday, I hope to run the Hood to Coast. All of this . . . before my poor knees give out.