at the end of march, i ran a 10k race. after a winter of treadmilling it, i was able to run 10k at least once before the race, which i did around the track at the high school. liz and i finished the race with decent time, and it was the first time she’d actually run that far.
and since liz is a masochist, she wants me to train to run a half marathon with her. 
so, this summer i guess i start training for a half marathon. i had already thought about the fact that i needed to start running at least three miles every time i went out, but this sort of pushed the matter. but the matter with this matter is my muscle fatigue.
after five miles, my  muscles decide enough is enough, and it’s time to sit down and lie on the ground for an hour. that just won’t do if i’m supposed to be running twice that distance. so i googled it and asked facebook advice from the runners on my friends list, and really i just came to a simple realization.
i need to just run longer distances more.
i did decide to bring along a water bottle and some refueling snacks for the longer runs. the general advice out there is if you’re going to be running for more than an hour, you need to bring water and something to eat (but especially water so you don’t get deyhdrated). 
i bought a nice looking fancy fanny pack for the water bottle and foodstuffs, as well as a place to hold my key (yay!) when i’m starting from the high school parking lot. i went out a couple weeks ago on a 6-mile run, and it actually worked pretty well. i stopped twice for water and eating, and when i got back to my car, i was still fatigued, but a little less so. (that was when i had my realization about long distances.)
last week, i ran 3+ miles every day i went out, and two of the days were 4+ miles. my body hated me by the end of the week. 
(as an aside, this week has been horrible windy, so i went out for the first time today. i am not going back to the treadmill til i have to.)
so this summer, bring on the long distances.