Last week...

Cause I was a slacker and didn't post anything on the other runs I did, or lack there of. Life starting to catch up with me and so was that unwanted "I'm not getting sick" sickness.

After the SPEEDY speedwork on Monday, I had a meeting with the ahhhhmazing Dr. Pat. He really does rock this. And I think what makes him "rock it" so much is that he is a runner too and he relates to what I am telling him and he genuinely cares about my wellness. I wish all doctors were runners. Maybe then I would like them more. So, some "dancing" shock therapy on my tush and hammy, and I was out the door with notes on what to do and what not to do and the confidence to get me thru the last of the  workouts until the week before, aghast, the 1/2. 

Tuesday night was also the greatest night ever! YOGA! SOA!  So, normally after yoga and I am all relaxed, I go home and watch Sons of Anarchy and get all worked up. Instead, I left the DVR do it's job and I waited. I needed to rest. I could feel ickiness coming on and I really needed to "nip it in the bud" and get some well deserved rest. And I was planning on getting up in the morning and running the last long run of 6 miles.

The plan was to meet and BE READY to run at 4:45AM. Well, that just didn't work. I woke up at 4am and felt, oh, not so good. Tired. A little achy. Throat scratchy. Not gonna happen. And it was super cold. There is always Thursday. Kelly was quite happy. Katie was too. Cristen, secretly I think she was too, but not sure she will admit it :)  So, we planned for Thursday but meet at 5 and just hope we can get the miles in, but if we can't, we can't. The realization is that, 8 days pre-race, one long run of 6 miles isn't going to affect my training and whether or not I am trained at this point. It's a little too late to be worrying about it. And honestly, with this minor little hip/butt/thigh issue, I really don't want to strain it more than I have to. This race means a lot to me.

So, Thursday, Cristen and Kelly meet me at the Rec and we start out of the rec. It's feeling good. Easy. Smooth. But it is super cold. I mean, really cold. It's different to run in the cold when I have trained the last 9 weeks in the HEAT. It takes longer for my legs to warm up. Takes longer to warm up my lungs. And honestly, if you can get brain freeze from cold weather, I am pretty sure I had that too. But, on the flip side, if the weather continues like this by the 1/2, then it's good to be ready to run in weather like that.  I had to stop and walk for a brief minute or two. My head just couldn't focus. It's racing at this point in the game. Panic. Brain freeze. I didn't hurt, except for the scary thoughts I am having. We only got 3 miles in that morning. And really had to push for the 3. Kelly had to get home by 6am. Sure, Cristen and I could have kept going. That is what we should have done. But we didn't. I just wasn't feeling it.  HATE THAT!  Well, it's over now. Pick myself up and get over it. Injury or time? Injury or run? Yeah, I keep telling myself that. Gosh, I sound like a wimp.

That was that. BFFAE and I had our annual Mandy's Sunshine 5k Run on Saturday in Greenville. We have done this race for the last 3 years (at least we think it's 3). It's really a great race for an even greater cause. Mandy was a 10 year old girl who passed away in 2005 of Wilm's Tumor. The race  benefits the Mandy Green Class of 2013 Memorial Scholarship fund and will provide scholarships to graduating seniors in the year 2013. We thought this was going to be the last year but it was announced before the start that the Hope Foundation will take over the race and another charitable cause. Our kids are the age that Mandy was when she passed. It really hits home for us. So we have made it our priority and always sign up for this race. 

And now I have an even more personal reason to do this race. I PR'd unofficially at this race.....37:59!!!! (according to the Garmin)  38:33 was my previous PR at the Breast Cancer Awareness race 7/28/12, also in Greenville, but a different route. The results aren't posted yet, so I haven't been able to confirm it...but when they are I will post it and let y'all know for sure! Although it's not a chipped race, I did not start my watch until I crossed that line and then did not turn off my watch until I crossed the finish line. This time was somewhat shocking to me, so I am anxious to get the results. I was really struggling to run. I was tired. I was sore from the horrible nights sleep. I didn't eat anything that morning, which isn't unusual for a warmer race, but it was easily in the low 40's that morning, if not upper 30's, and I should have eaten something to get me going. Cause the cold weather was not cutting it.  About 1.5 miles in I had to stop and walk for a few minutes. I waited until the water stop so that I would only walk as long as I had that water in my hand. Water gone, begin run. I stopped again one other time to refocus my head. Maybe a minute. Then I stopped one last time close to the 3 mile mark. I felt like I was going to puke. And honestly, not sure I didn't because I had to spit. Nasty. But then I saw the finish line. And I just started running. Fast. Or at least as fast as I could at that moment. I visualized the HS track. I was doing speedwork. 400 meters. That's all I had to do. I should have lapped my watch so I could see how fast I actually ran, but I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to be done. I didn't see the time when I crossed the line. I saw an 8. That was it. I have no idea what the rest was. We will see when the "official" results are posted. But regardless, I am happy!

On another personal reason why we like this race, it's in GREENVILLE...um, MAID-RITES. Hello yumminess! Tradition started last year with stopping at Maid-Rite and getting 2 sandwiches and a beer after the race.  And the tradition continued this year! And NOW it will continue every year! YAY!!! And we have a new recruit to this race! TONI!!!!  

Me, BFFAE, Toni...and the GUM wall!

Our MB friends came down from Cleveland this weekend to camp at Natural Springs Resort with us. Toni has been training for a 1/2 Marathon as well! (You could say that BFFAE and I got her into running after we did the Cap City 1/2 in May!)  Camping is usually fun...Except the night before a race, camping in a thunderstorm, in a tent, was not so much fun. It was cold. It was wet. It was sleepless. O-well. What was done, was done.  We had fun.

The race, on the other hand, was fun. And the after party was fun. Except I was really too tired to do much but sit back and watch Nate fish. That boy is so cool. It was nice to hang with him this weekend. During this training, I haven't given him much "he and I" time. So it was nice to hang with him. To sit back and relax. To watch my boy just be a boy and have fun and laugh. 

So the weekend is over and my countdown has begun. I have my toiletry bag packed. I've thought about what I am going to wear on race day. I've thought about what I need to pack for the weekend. I won't be doing much after the race. Back to my sister's for some Buckeye Football and probably a nap. Hang with my niece (gosh I hope she doesn't ask for a piggy back or for me to chase her...AGHAST!)  We have 2 football games this week. The yard needs mowed. And I still have two workouts planned; 4x400's and 2 mile tempo. No yoga Tuesday, would have to go Thursday night, but with a football game that night in Beavercreek, it's not gonna happen :(. Of all weeks too, I really may need this one. Have to figure that out. Hmmmmmm. Anyhow. Oh and a chiro appointment for one last adjustment before race day! How could I forget! 

That's that. For now. I have a draft written of random thoughts...

Until then....

Run. Strong.

-t-

Random pre-race thoughts. Part 1

12 days pre-race and I'm icing my butt, my hamstring, my hip. The speed work felt great while I was doing it as honestly I didn't start to feel the pain until I was home today with Nate sick and sat more working than I would if I were at work. Dr. Pat will fix it up tomorrow. And yoga will help too!

I was reading a blog post tonight on Another Mother Runner and they were answering 10 questions about their running habits and quirks and just some random facts about them. I'm going to try and do that. Might be kinda interesting for some of you! Enlighten you to my craziness.

I'm also thinking about Amy and Melissa and their half this past weekend. It was so amazing watching those runners. It was like a wave of people just running from something or someone, but really they are just running because we like it. I didn't get to train with Amy and Melissa (they run faster than I do) but it felt like we trained together. Mostly because we both were training for a half and although it wasn't the same one and actually 2 week apart, we still shared the same experiences in training. The same fears. And the same sense of accomplishment (although mine is still 12 days away). I am just excited!

And then this wave of fear starts to come over me. It's too early to talk about those fears. But I have them. And while they scare me, they also push me and boost my confidence that I CAN DO THIS.

It's going to be bittersweet though. I will be running by myself. Me and my thoughts. Me and the half. I guess it's only appropriate. I plan to imagine people next to me. I may even carry my phone to call you when I need a push or just some encouragement. Or distraction. Or maybe not. Maybe I just need to put in my "less big girl" panties and just let myself run.

And this injury on my hip is beginning to freak me out! It's different from me PF in the spring. I can't explain it. It's not like it hurts more or less. It's just there and it's annoying.

I am totally rambling. It's time to get some sleep. Hope you enjoyed this random post there will be more to come I am sure.

Run. Strong.
-t-

Taper Down Workout #1....3x800's

And I KILLED THEM!

• 5:07
• 5:03
• 4:52 

Yeah, you read that right!! UNDER 5 MINUTES 1/2 MILE!   Last time I did the 800's was  08/29/12 and the times were 5:06, 5:05, 5:12, 5:11. Remember, this was the one that I knew I should have kicked it in at the end and didn't...

But let me tell you how amazing it felt first. 

Me, Cristen, Kelly

I met up with Cristen and Kelly at the HS at our usual o'dark 5am and we started off on our warmup walk off the school grounds and then started running. We all agreed that the first 20 steps of running are the hardest ones to take. It's all about finding your groove, rhythm, mojo, sync, whatever you want to call it. It's working out the kinks. About 1/2 mile into it we were in a groove. Turning the corner to head back to the HS, I almost considered just going running that morning and doing speed work later in the week, because I was feeling sooooo good. I love when I feel that good on a run! It's just an ahhhhhhmazing feeling!

We meander into the track and start off right away. I only had 3 to do and just wanted to get going on them. I was curious to see how well I was going to do these in. It's the last hard speed work workout (4x400's next week). I didn't look back to see what I did the last 800's in. I just knew I had 6 minutes to get 1/2 mile (2x around the track, 800). And that was the only goal I was going for. 

The first one felt fast. But my legs didn't hurt. My hip didn't hurt. I was breathing good (despite still feeling a large mammal sitting on my chest). When I checked the time, I was SHOCKED! I mean seriously? Okay. I will take it. Even Cristen commented that it felt fast. We walked 1/2 the track and started right back into #2. Again, feeling great. No stingers. No pain. Breathing good. Okay. And then checked the time. WHAT?! That was faster? Crap. I thought I had slowed down a little bit! I guess not! Half way around the track to recover and back at it. Last one. And we shoot off. Only this time, the 2nd time around about 3/4 done, I throw out the f'bomb and pick up my pace. Not because I looked at my watch, cause I didn't, but because I just felt the need to. Cristen is still going strong next to me. And we are D-O-N-E. She immediately says "I'm gonna puke". I say, "I am too. We just did that one in 4:52!" O-M-G  WE REALLY JUST RAN THAT FAST??? Oh, the fast people do! HA! We were fast today!  Full walk around the track. I don't remember a single conversation. I think maybe Kelly was talking about Lauren's homecoming dress? Or maybe we were talking about the weather. Maybe we didn't talk. I know I was just trying to breath! 

I honestly pushed myself today like I don't ever recall pushing myself. I remembered back to the first time I tried the 800's with Boss Lady and Training Planner Cult Lady. I remember thinking  I was going to die. Wondering if I would ever be good at these. I can tell you today. I am good at these. I think I actually like speed work. I know, Kelly. I know.  Track workout is a great workout. It really gives you an opportunity to push yourself each lap around the track. It's a great way to gauge your comfort level and step outside that comfort level and do what you thought you couldn't do. 

I challenge you all to try a track workout. 

Nate is home sick from school today with appears to be a flu bug. I am avoiding him at all costs. Where are you FedEx???

Run. Strong.

-t-

Sum it up!

Mile Repeats (3) WITHOUT PAIN!

The week started out good. Speed-work was complete (mile repeats). TWO visits to the ahhhhmazing Dr. Pat (lucky me!). Yoga did wonders (and so did Dr. Pat) Tuesday on my hit/butt/hamstring! A short 2.25 run on Thursday. And then I rested Friday. Headed out Saturday morning at o'dark 6am for what I was aiming to be a 6-8 mile run. My plan called for a 12 mile run. However, after the slight injury earlier this week and having to visit the chiropractor TWICE, it was recommended that I just shoot for 6-8 and then maybe finish it up on Sunday. So, that was the plan.

 And the run began. And it felt good. I didn't feel stiff I started running. At least until about mile 2 when I got a sharp "stinger" in my butt. But (ha, no pun intended), I didn't stop. I kept going. Mentally I tried to "relax" my butt muscles. It's a mental thing. I don't know. But it worked. It "kinda" went away. Or maybe I just ignored it and kept on running. Cristen and I must have slowed down because I had to yell up to "speedies" Lisa and Kelly to slow down a little bit! Geesh! Slow and easy girls. Slow and easy.

Get into McDonalds for some H2O and then head back out thru the plat behind BHS. It's a nice, rolling hill type of neighbor. And it's quiet. And we usually see it in the dark. And then I called my dad. I just wanted to. I don't know why. So I put him on speaker and we all chatted with him. Spelled "FOCUS". I was focused. We were focused. Honestly, this run was feeling great!  Cristen found a quarter. She said it was for me; for my race fund. But she found it. I can't really keep it. But she said she would have lost it. So I will start her race fund! She's muuuuuch closer than I am. I only have 12 cents! 

Our route led us up to Fabulous Farrell Road! I was secretly excited about this. I missed the hill repeat workout on Wednesday (mean, but right Dr!) so I was looking forward to going up it. Even if I didn't make it up, I was excited to try it! It had been about 3 weeks since I had done the workout. I thought it would be fun to video record actually running up the hill. And it was pretty successful. Buuuuutttttt, it's really shaky. And I couldn't download the entire thing. So, you are just gonna have to run it yourself! :)

Can ya see the longhorns? Such a perfect picture!

At this point in the run we had only been about 4 miles in. I really wanted to get at least 6. I knew if we went back up the route that we usually do it would only be 5 miles. Not enough. So, we lengthened it and went up Mulberry. Again, a slight hilly road. And curvy. But it was worth it. The longhorns were out! I know, you are thinking, Longhorns, like the animal? In Vandalia? Yep. And Kelly called her house to have them bring some water out to us!

Cristen, Me, Kelly, Lisa

We then stalked thru Copperfield (mile repeat route) and back over to the Rec Center. 6.3 miles. Wasn't quite 12, nor 8. There was minimal walking (except up a smalllll portion of FFR). And honestly, my legs and feet and butt felt pretty good. It was my belly that had other ideas. So, naturally I had to call it quits. I was going to try and get more in on Sunday anyhow. 

After this run, Kelly and I were gonna head down to the AF Marathon and cheer on our friends Amy and Melissa (sisters) who were running  the 1/2! We hadn't told them we were going because we wanted to surprise them! We called them while we were out running (right about the time we got to the longhorns) to wish them luck! They sounded nervous. But excited. Probably just ready to run! I hate that waiting game. We got down there to mile 9 where it was a "designated spectator area". YAY AMY AND MELISSA!!!!  And they were so excited to see us! It took a bit of yelling and jumping to get their attention but when we did, they were all smiles and happy to see us! Seeing friends and family on the route can really get you going and mentally thru the rest of the race (ahem, family and friends in Akron).

I literally got chills watching all those runners. It was just amazing! I got so psyched! They looked so STRONG. So FAST. When I saw what would be my pace come thru, I was equally excited. Because they were out there. They were doing it. And for about a half a second, I thought, maybe I would do this race. And then it went away. But I stood there and rang my cowbell as loud as I could! I screamed for them. I yelled for them. I told them great job. I called them by name (your name is on your bib). I high-five some of them (sweaty hands and all). And I rang the cow bell LOUDER when they would say "MORE COWBELL!" It was quite exhilarating. I am ready for my race. I can't wait for my race. 

Amy and Melissa finished under their desired time of 2:20! So happy for them! 

They are in the blue shirts!!!

Sunday got me out with Boss Lady for a few miles. We ran one. But walked 3. And it was a power walk. She doesn't walk slow by any means.  I always enjoy my "Boss Lady" time. 

I am pretty impressed with my watch!

So, tomorrow is Monday. And I am officially in taper down mode. I have an appointment with the chiro. Speed-work of 3x800's. 6 mile long run. A 5k on Saturday. And yoga! It's gonna be a busy week. But I am looking forward to it. I have so many thoughts in my head about what I need to do before the race. Silly things. Like, what I need to pack, what I plan on doing when I get home. I think I may have to make a list. And then make another one. I have jotted down some random thoughts that I will blog about before race day. My thoughts are so random. You may just find out what I ate for dinner. 

I might add that I feel like an elephant sitting on my chest right now. Which is partly why I didn't mind the power walk with Boss Lady. My chest is so tight. It's allergies. But just in case, I am loading up on zinc with my AdvoCare CitriZinc chews! Boss Lady and Training Planner Cult Lady swear by them when they start to feel like they are getting sick.

With that said, I am exhausted. 

Run. Strong.

-t-

 

The last of the 1600's

I just read my blog post from the last time I did the 3x1600's. It was actually the time I didn't have to do the mile repeats but did them anyway. Back in August. Okay. So it was only like 3 weeks ago, but seems like forever ago. And it was an unscheduled mile repeat. I say all this to defend my times on this morning's mile repeats....

 

Mile 1: 11:30
Mile 2: 11:49
Mile 3: 11:33

When we did the "unscheduled" mile repeats it was ridiculous times of 10:22, 10:40, 10:50.   I was also running with the fastest people in our group (Boss Lady, Katie, Lisa, Holly) that morning. I also wasn't as flipping tired as I was this morning. 

However, this morning I did beat my times from the miles I did on a scheduled mile repeat week in the beginning of August...almost exactly a month ago...11:38, 11:40, 11:48. So there.

I am sore this today. And tired. And if Kelly or Cristen had texted and said they were "bailing" I would have been just as content. And that sentiment was realized this morning while we stood at our cars at the Rec Center. It was even offered to go home. But we were there. And therefore we were going to go do these miles. And when this race is complete, I will not be running for a week.

And they were uneventful. Quite. 

But I could feel every single muscle and foot hitting the pavement. And I could hear my feet which sounded like lead hammers. I could hear myself breathing over Godsmack in my ears. I was so in tune with my body it was discouraging. I am hitting what I will name the "training wall". I am tired. I am burnt out. I am just downright exhausted. And either my mind is finally listing to my body, or my body is finally listening to my mind. Whichever it may be, I have to get out of this funk. This cloud. This aura. I have to find my "happy place" and finish this out strong. Because right now I feel weak. Beaten. 

And these feelings are not going to get me thru the 12 miler this weekend. These feelings aren't going to get me to race day. 

I am going to see the Ahhhhhmazing Dr. Pat today. I. Can. Not. Wait. The roller bed. The adjustments. The bit of confidence he will give me to get me thru the last 3 weeks of this training. 

Stay tuned for that update.

Run.Strong. Or at least try to...

-t-

When your head just isn't in it...

...you just keep running and hope that it gets in the game.

That was the "theme" of Saturday's 10 mile long run. Cristen and I are usually chatting it up the entire run, with a few breaks in the middle. But Saturday, neither one of us could get into the groove. Maybe it was the weather? The rain? The delay in the run time? Or maybe we just had a bad run. There were a few highlights to the run. Which I am glad I took pictures of because otherwise it all would have been forgotten and this post would not be happening. 

Saturday it was pouring rain when I woke up at 530. After a quick check of the radar, it looked like it would be clearing up and slowing down in about an hour. So we bumped the run time from 630 to 730 in the hopes that the rain would subside a little bit.  Okay. I can deal with that. Plus we were running on the bike path and therefore it would be incredibly dark at 630, mostly because of the rain clouds.

I pick up Cristen and we head down to the bike path. The last 10 we ran on the path was a 5 out and 5 back. That really made for a super long run. So I thought if we started at the mid-way point on Old Springfield Road, it would be a good point to get water after the 2.5 to Kyle Park and back for a total of 5 miles. Water. Then 2.5 out to Taylorsville Rd and then back. And the 10 would be complete. If only it were that easy....

The first 5 were great. Felt great. For the most part. Or rather compared to the last 5. Cristen and I tried to have our talks. But neither one of us could do it. We were not able to get our breathing down, which we usually accomplish rather quickly. So we put on our headphones. And ran. That was it. It was okay. Felt okay. See, the night before I had the realization that I would not have Cristen with me on race day to talk to. She literally has been my "right hand man" through all this training and even leading up to the training. She has been on my right side through a majority of the runs (only missed a week cause she went on vacation...the nerve!). Having this realization Friday night actually brought a tear to my eye. I was sad. So maybe subliminally I knew that I needed to run without her next to me and therefore come Saturday morning my mind started to think like that and told me not to talk on this run. At least that is what I am chalking it up to. 

The last 5 seemed to drag on and on and on and on.... Seemed like we had been running for 15 minutes and had gone a mile but in reality it wasn't even a quarter of a mile. And it hadn't been 15 minutes. That was frustrating. 8 miles down and I text Boss Lady: "Right now I hate running. 2 miles to go."  She texts back "Keep going...u got it!"  I mean, I really hated it. Hated my feet. Hated my pants. Hated my goals. I start to doubt myself. Doubt that I am going to be able to do the half. I have 3 weeks until race day. O.M.G.  I keep running. I do have this. I have to have this. 

And we finish. And then Cristen and I talk about the "suckiness" of that run. I can't recall having a sucky run. Even thinking about it today, I still can't remember a suckier run. And I can't narrow down what made it so sucky. Lydia, another runner, asked how my run was last night. I told her it sucked. She said "sometimes you have those." WHY?!?! Why do you have sucky runs? 

I know I am forgetting something. Or maybe I am not. This is probably why it took me 36 hours to write this post. Because I just didn't like it.

Although it was a sucky run as far as "running" goes, there were some funny and noteworthy items that occurred on the run...

• We saw a deer, or rather 3 deer, but one deer actually jumped in front of us! That was pretty cool!
• Old men running should not, and I repeat, should not run shirtless. It is not attractive nor polite. 
• Cristen's iPod Nike app said that we ran <8 min mile to Kyle Park! YAY US!!!! WOW!!! And it was 8 miles!
• There are some random things on the bike path. Like the rocks in a strange formation. Oddly I don't recall seeing them on the way to Kyle Park, but saw them on the return. Maybe it was the shirtless men.
• People leave their coats and hats and other people don't steal. This is just nice.
• By the time our 10 miles were done, Cristen's app said we ran 15 miles!!! YAHOO!!!  
• I have a big head, size wise, when taking a picture of Cristen and I. 
• We both spit our cherry seeds out the window while driving! It's a great recovery food! And it makes for a laugh!

 

This week is 12 miles. I am already gearing up in my head for this one. It is starting to mess with my head. I conveyed this to Boss Lady on our hike this afternoon. I asked if she would meet me around mile 8 and finish it with me. If not on her own 2 feet running, then on her bike. This is my last long run. I just want this next long run to be over. Done. Complete. 

Until then, I have speed work (3x1600's), Yoga, hills, and mental preparation.  Deep breath.  I got this.

Run. Strong.

-t-

PS...enough said.....

6x400's and the forgotten picture

I forgot to take my picture this morning after my speed work. Booooo. So, I stopped D in the parking lot when I got to work because Kelly suggested "take the picture now and say this is what you look like after your run and all cleaned up!" GREAT IDEA! I have actually been thinking about that lately...all my pictures are of me sweaty and gross (thank goodness you can't "scratch-n-sniff" a blog!)...I don't always look like that, although it does seem that way lately... So here is a picture of me after my workout, when I got to work! "I am pretty. Oh so pretty" (not sure if that is an actual song, but my sister and I used to sing it growing up, oh, heck, we still sing it to each other!)

So the 6x400's. Yeah. They are done. I actually like 400's. They are, well, easy. Think about it. One time around the track at top speed. Or, what should be top speed. I got lazy today. The first one was A-W-E-S-O-M-E. The third thru sixth, not so awesome (note the upper and lower case)

Lap 1: 2:14.09

Lap 2: 2:14.57

Lap 3: 2:20.45

Lap 4: 2:24.98

Lap 5: 2:28.69

Lap 6: 2:26.97

Lap 6 was better than lap 5, but not as great as lap 1 & 2. Like I said, I got lazy. My chest got tight. My sinuses started flooding down my throat. I was a mess. And I let it mess with my head. And I got lazy. 

I should add that I could have stopped at 4 laps as it was 5:55am and I needed to be done by 6 am to get home and get Nate up for school. But I finished the workout. 

I told the girls this morning that I was going to blog a part of our morning conversation because it was so funny! So here it goes...full-on embarrassment and all....The girls, (which shall remain unnamed, but if you know who I always run with you should be able to decipher who I am talking about), and I had a candid discussion this morning about gas. Not the kind you put in your car or lawn mower, but rather the kind that comes out one of two places on your body. Yes, that gas. Flatulence. One of us stated that on the first lap she was very fast. And she should be glad the others started a bit after she did as she was "sputtering" around the track. The next lap, that did not happen and her time was much slower. So the "sputtering" was attributed it to being rocket-like and therefore making her faster! We cracked up! It was so funny! I guess it was one of those moments that ya "just had to be there" but at o'dark thirty with sleep still in the tired eyes, a laugh will go a long way!  I tell ya, it's a good thing we don't have boys run with us. And it's a wonder why I haven't had a date in awhile!  (BTW...I was not the one sputtering...Tuesday evening, yes, that was me. There. Confession made.)

 

So anyhow, on the last part of our morning warm-up run, I found a penny. I actually circled back to pick it up. I love finding money. Even a penny. 

Nate has a football game this evening in Lebanon. It's going to be a long day.  Thank goodness for rest tomorrow and gearing up for a 10 mile long run in what looks like may be rain. 

Run. Strong. 

-t-