Running home...

If "home is where the heart is" then home for me is (and always will be) the country where I grew up, where the majority of my family lives, and where I have "visited" four times already this year. My trip home was orchestrated for numerous reasons, one of which was to celebrate my mom's birthday. And it came at the perfect time because I needed a break from my day-to-day routine. My favorite thing about my first day back home was being able to read a good novel...

and enjoy the relaxing view...

5K & 5 Miles...

I'm in the middle of a love-hate relationship with Summer running. I love that I've been able to get my training runs in. But I hate that I have to run in such humid weather...

Since Saturday's LR I've been battling sore muscles and blisters, so I took three consecutive rest days (Sun-Tues) and didn't run again until Wednesday. That run was a struggle because (despite the rest days) my muscles still felt stiff. I decided to only do a 5K run (with intervals)...

In hindsight I really should have gone for a walk on Monday evening to help loosen up my muscles and prepare for this running week. Although having three rest days felt great (and I've been diligent with my foam rolling and stretching) I think I would have benefited from something like walking or swimming.

Yoga Monday Version 6.22

Although I'm still on Cloud 9 (yes, still) after completing my 16 mile run on Saturday, the strategic planning has already started for my 18 mile LR in two weeks. I figure I might as well start the mental training from now...

I spent most of yesterday trying to walk like a normal person and then I took my daughter & niece to see the new movie "Inside Out"...

The Sixteen Miler...

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT! 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

I was finally able to conquer my 16 mile training run this morning!!! I'm excited (can you tell?) because this was my third attempt at doing this distance. The first time I was only able to complete 11.5 miles. The second time I had to split my long run into a 10K & 10mile run between Saturday and Sunday (respectively). But today I DID IT!!!!!! 16 miles done and, although my entire body hurts and my feet hate me, I am really proud of myself...

I started the run early this morning because I wanted to avoid running in the sun as much as possible. And I was also trying to avoid as much humidity as possible...

The challenge with starting really early is safety. As a female runner (who is also afraid of the dark...and yes that is still possible...and no I don't go to therapy for that) safety is a big priority for me. I have different apps that I can use to alert family if I don't return home by a certain time, but I've watched enough crime shows to know that my body would already be chopped up and dumped somewhere by then. 

When the glass tips over...

What filled the glass...

I'm still enjoying the benefits of my new "refillable glass" outlook. And this morning I started off the day with a very full glass because I had such a great run! It was one of those "forget all your worries" types of runs.
I did a 1/2 mile warm up walk...