Progress or so slow it doesn't matter?

Well I have reached my first big running plateau. The last month and more has been spent getting "used" to being active again, using muscles dormant for years, eating and drinking properly. I have discovered through all of this that I am a really slow runner; and I suppose that's to be expected given my inexperience and lack of athleticism. What I have noticed, however, is that it is less difficult to run at my snail's pace than it was when I started. ( high-five's all around!! ) This last weekend was a defining moment in my very short and unremarkable running career - doing a personal best on my 4k run, and doing a 10k instead of 9k for my long run! What was exciting ( and I can't believe I'm referring to running as exciting ) was how I felt after my runs. I wasn't going around each corner praying and hoping for the finish to be there, and I didn't feel so exhausted that I couldn't keep going if I had to. That is a HUGE difference!
Sunday marked the 9km distance for my long run, so the bf and I had planned out a route in the river valley that would be approximately that distance. --On a side note...I still haven't mastered running without having to use the toilet yet. How does anyone drink that much water and NOT pee???--- Anyways. It was a perfect morning for a run so I was quite pumped. There was a great mix of dirt/gravel trails along the river and bike paths and roads. I will fully support trails over pavement/cement any day! It is so much easier to run on and hurts your joints so much LESS when you run. We had to stop for my bathroom break, but other than that we went the first 5k without a hitch. There were quite a few small hills on our run, which is good for training even if hills are the devil. I have begun to see that you have to run quite differently up hills than on flat stretches. Slower strides and deep breathing seems to be the key...boy those hills make you work! Ugh. I admit it was a bit daunting seeing all the runners around us just whipping by at a good clip...where I remained the slow and steady snail :( haha...this too shall pass...or I hope.
On a random note -- during our run there was this punk kid on a bmx bike or something. He seemed to follow us for a time and had the most squeaky bike I've ever heard and he creeped me out. Oh well...he left after a while and I got back into the 'zone'. I noticed during the run that I could actually carry on short conversations with the bf as we went along, not full sentences at a time mind you...but enough to keep up :)
The first half of the run was hard, but definitely the easiest stretch. I had so much less energy on the way back...and those hills...oooh boy did those hills give me a run for my money. But we did it! Instead of 9k, we did 10k! 70 minutes for my run in total...I felt incredible afterwards. I don't know if that's runner's high...or just feeling really good for going the "distance" but I was practically euphoric! Hoo rah!! ( small victory dance...oh yeah...)

Though I heard some of my friends ran it faster than me ( yes I'll admit it disappointed me ) I am just really pleased I did it. I "can" run 10kms! A month ago that never would have been possible.

--- on a side note...my left foot has been hurting me, and I fear it's a hairline/stress fracture...possibly from running. I'll get it checked out if the pain persists, but in the meantime I'm taking a rest day to see how it goes. ---