Sunrise

I chose walking for yesterday's cross training. My son had a soccer game which conflicted with my usual swim class, so later in the day I packed up my 19 month old daughter in the good jogging stroller and walked a few brisk miles around the neighborhood. She got a little restless towards the end so I unbuckled her and we chased each other up and down the sidewalk with both of us giggling.

This morning my long run was only 11 miles. I was sleepy when the alarm went off at 5:15, and I briefly considered sleeping in. But discipline and determination kicked in and got me up and out the door. I ran another negative split, running my second half about 10 minutes faster than my first half. I had a lot on my mind this morning; the annoyances and distractions of everyday life. So I prayed for about the first 5.5 miles for the negative thoughts and feelings to be gone from my head and my heart. By the time I started on my second 5.5 miles I was at the pond and the sun was rising, casting a pinkish hue throughout the sky. It was reflected in the pond, which was so calm and still it just mirrored the sky. And sitting right in the middle of that calm pink water was a heron, just as peaceful as could be. It took my breath away, and I felt all of the negativity melt away, leaving me much lighter in spirit, and somehow faster on my feet. I had my power gel caps with a water chaser at the halfway mark also, though I didn't really need them for the short distance. I will keep using them on my long training runs to make sure they will work for me during a race. And I need to get used to chewing while running. Which I currently prefer to squeezing a tube of gagginly sweet gelatinous Gu into my throat. As I was beginning my final three miles, chugging up one of the more challenging hills on my route I spotted a man out of the corner of my eye. We had passed each other earlier in the morning, and he looked vaguely familar. He pulled his headphones off, told me I was doing a great job, and then gave me some pointers for running uphill. I thanked him, he was off, and I had some new notes on form. I gave it a try and immediately felt the difference in the effort it took to get myself uphill. When I arrived home I relayed the story of the running superhero who showed up in my moment of struggle, and we concluded that he was probably one of the coaches from the local running center. Whoever he was, I am eternally grateful for the pointers. Overall today's run was fantastic. I ran it at my fastest training pace yet (for a long run) which really gives me confidence for my upcoming half. I am so so glad that I have had several longer runs before I'll run that 13.1 miles. I will be able to enjoy the race more knowing it's not the first time I'll cover that distance, and I have a pretty good idea of where to set my goal for pacing.