... maybe I'm just a 3 mile kind of girl

In exactly three weeks, I am participating in my first 10K. You'll notice I didn't say "I am running my first 10K." I'm not delusional enough to think that will happen. Thanks to my severe lack of discipline and my consistent inconsistencies, I still need to take a few (albeit brief) walk breaks during all of my runs, no matter the distance. However, I started the year with a 5K, and my goal was to complete a 10K by the end of the year, so for better or worse, I will be there. While I am very excited to be participating, I have quite a few reservations about the upcoming race event.
Every other morning, my alarm goes off before the sun is even considering getting up. I lace up my shoes, queue up my running app, turn up my Pandora, and hit the pavement. I love this time. This time is my time. It is the one thing I do that is just for me. I get to challenge myself, physically and mentally, before most people have even had their first cup of coffee. There's an unexplainable rush in that.
The downside to all this? After all this euphoric challenging of my body and mind (I'll have to remind myself I called it "euphoric" the next time I'm running...), I have to go back home, get ready for work, make my lunch, get Nicholas up and ready for school, have breakfast, drop the boy off at school, drive across town and be at the office by 8:00. Which means that alarm that goes off before the sun is up? Yeah, it goes off at 4:45. Which gives me no more than one hour to run. What that actually means is that I snooze said alarm for about 20 minutes, take longer than necessary to get dressed and ready to head out, and end up leaving myself only about 35 minutes to run.
Now, truth be told, that 35 minutes is the perfect amount of time for me to get in a comfortable 3 mile (or so) run, sometimes even a little farther if I'm having a good day. I really enjoy starting my days with a 3 mile run. I'm happy being a 3 mile kind of girl. But with the heavy shadow of a 6 mile race in my future, that 3 mile run just won't cut it.
It is a funny thing how time can change you. Last year at the time, I was beginning to train for my first 5K. I had been running off and on for much of the year, but not with any regularity. The idea of running 3 miles seemed ludicrous and foreign to me. Since then, I've run 3 5K's, and finally been able to actually run 3 miles. That particular feat has only occurred a precious few times, but wrapping my head around that knowledge is still pretty darn cool. I know I can complete the 6 miles of the race, but my brain is having some of the same challenges it had as I approached my first 3 miles. How strange that just a year later, I'm now frustrated by my ability to only be able to frequently run 3 miles?