#run18

Why, yes, hello, everyone. I feel like I need to reintroduce myself because it's been so long since I've hung out here. The real reason I've been MIA? Life has been good, y'all. Real good.

I spent a girl's weekend away with my sister and mom at the Grove Park Inn. It also happened to be the Comedy festival weekend, so we got to see comedians on Friday and Saturday nights. There was lots of laughter and even more relaxation. We spent a day at the spa, and all I have to say about that is' underwater music in the pool. I floated there for about two hours watching the clouds roll by through the skylights above me...by far, one of the most peaceful things I've experienced in months. Here's the one picture I have from that weekend. Emma got a beautiful painting.

Despite my desire to spend the entirety of my days beside one of the many fireplaces at the hotel - I did manage to make my way down to the fitness center. It happened to be much more high tech than I expected - to the extent that I wasn't always sure exactly which buttons I should press to turn the damn treadmill on. It was user interface overload, and not exactly intuitive.  But really, you could surf the internet while you exercised. I was trying to envision myself attempting to browse an internet site while running and I've come to the conclusion that it would be near impossible. There is a lot of bouncing that takes place when I'm running - concentrating on a single point would not be any easy feat. I think it would be quite entertaining for anyone watching it play out, though. If I ever feel the desire to become YouTube famous - I know what's first on my list of attempts. All 10 of you who read this blog will be the first to hear. 

After a few false starts and more random button pressing than I'd like got admit - I got the treadmill working and ran my quickest 5K ever: 35:35. Confidence booster for sure.

After I got back to the hotel on Sunday - it was too beautiful to not go back outside. Thank goodness for Daylight Savings Time. I was able to go out on the golf course and run. Let me first say that the idea of running outside gave/gives me lots of anxiety. I have memories of when I first began running and would run my heart out for the 2 minutes that I could actually do that and then have no energy left for the rest of my distance. In other words - I'm terrible at pacing myself and I know this. I decided I'd never get better at it if I didn't try, so I ventured out.  I listened to my body - walked when I needed a breather - and ran again the moment I felt comfortable with it - no second guessing. The outcome? I ran my fastest 5K: 34:34. Seeing that - it brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't believe it. I don't get the runner's high yet (hoping I will someday) - but the rush I got from that realization must have been pretty damn close.

I'm constantly amazed by my body and it's ability to recover after my running. A minute after my huffing and puffing on the treadmill as a I push myself through a sprint in the last minute,  I find myself breathing normally. That's the coolest thing about running. I surprise myself, my body surprises me every.single.time. Each success just reminds me that I can never again say "I can't do that" because I have done - and it can only get better from here. 

On Tuesday, I headed out to the golf course again. I ran another 5K and then went a bit further because I was feeling really good.  I'm pretty convinced my Nike Running app screwed up my timing on this one. Case in point: it said that I ran my fastest mile ever (in 6:48). Ummmm....laugh with me folks.

I definitely did the distance, but I'll just leave it as an unknown time. There's no way I did a 5K in 27:57. Maybe one day, in a few months, or when hell freezes over.

This past weekend, I didn't do official 5ks, but I did get workouts in on Friday and Saturday (went biking on the American Tobacco Trail - just, wow, so so good).

In general -  life is good.