Spooky Run

Here is a quickie update before I get to the main event. I ran 4.2 miles on Saturday with Kat and Leah and all I have to say is that it was marvelous! It was about 40 degrees, clear, and the air smelled like autumn. This is my favorite season and I am glad it has started to yield some good results. The loop we did was pretty easy to follow with a few inclines and half of the time we had a view of the lake. I think it is the runners reward to see the sunrise on an early run and it was lovely that morning. It came up over the water as we were going over a bridge and the colors were brilliant and soft all at the same time. About two miles into the run I took off my jacket. I also stayed just a little ahead of the girls on the run because we had a really thin shoulder to run on. There was also a ton of running groups out that morning as well. I always seem to run into my fellow religious education teacher there. It is starting to be nice to see familiar faces out. There are always a lot of very nice people out who say words of encouragement and tell us how well we are doing and how awesome we are. This is certainly a sweet boost that early in the morning. After we settled into some yoga and all three of us were the peanut gallery during the stretched. Plus I kept laughing as the sweat off of Leah started to evaporate. It looked like she was steaming and I almost fell over in my downward dog when I saw it evaporate off of her butt. Kat was really tired and was just kind of laying there during a plank making some sad noises and the guy next to me said "there is no crying in baseball" which made us all laugh.

Now, tonight was a different story all together. Leah, her mom and I met at a park to do our weekly short conditioning runs and boy were they lousy. We did 2 miles and her mom did 3 and it was just miserable. The weather was fine, but for some reason we started off and continued to be faster than usual. We warmed up too quickly and pretty soon our calves tightened up. We attacked a hill instead of approached it and all of the stupid roads to go around the park had really annoying inclines. Where is some flat land when you need it? This was a far cry from Saturday where all seemed beautiful and full of possibilities. I don't understand how this turned out so bad and it wasn't even a long run. Plus, I officially need new shoes. I have worn some of the rubber down in the middle of my shoe and am now lacking the cushion and support I need. I am still dealing with sleepy feet and a little pain. Everything else that hurt when I first started running is pretty much OK now. I have learned to run through the little aches (and sometimes big ones) and pains to finish up and get my miles in. We also got our new training schedules and I cannot believe that we are on week 9. I feel pretty impressed with myself and my girls. This weekend I do 4 miles again, but the next week we move up to 5! This just feels great to know that I can do this and I am genuinely proud that I haven't quit and that I have found something active that I love.