what a beautiful morning!

Before I start rambling on about this mornings run, I want to talk about my first 7 miles (or so) Saturday morning. I made it up to Chicago to visit an old friend I hadn't seen in over a year, and I'm not quite sure how far I actually ran, but I just kept going for an hour and fifteen minutes, which I'm guessing had to have been almost 8 miles. Along the way all I could keep thinking was, "Me?!? Running for this long?!?..Holy cow!" I'm not quite sure how I managed to keep going through the blistering Chicago heat and the crowds (it was the water and air show this past weekend), but running with 2 other girls made it all the more possible...to be honest, 7 miles isn't so bad. All I could keep thinking was that I REALLY DID IT! The funniest part was that all along the way me and Jessica kept making fun of how, when we used to go on runs in high school, I would stop to walk literally 6 or 7 minutes after starting. I couldn't even make it 10 blocks without stopping (she would get so frustrated with me), and just being able to look back at that and see how far I've really come amazes me. I felt great during the run, except maybe the last 10 minutes when I could feel my knees start to ache, but I'm hoping thats just the result of my body getting used to running for over an hour. I know now that after that run, I DEFINITELY like long distances more than a dinky 3 or 4 miles. There's just so much more to look forward to.

Ooook...onto this mornings training session. Let me just say that it was absolutely beautiful. I woke up at 5:45 and made it out to the crisp 57 degree weather by 6. The sun was just starting to come up and the crickets were my music. My iPod had died late last week, and the lack of music seemed to help make my 3 mile run go by very quickly. I had nothing to listen to except my feet hitting the pavement and my breathing, which for that early in the morning, was very relaxing, especially because the sky was so pretty. In front of me was the rising sun and behind me it was the night sky (with hundreds of stars I might add). I really do think waking up that early to run is worth it considering what you get to look at.

My 8 mile run is next Saturday, except that its the Run Jane Run 10K in South Bend, which I'll be running with Kaity (I'll have to make up the other 2 miles after the race is over...I don't want to cut myself short). It's my first long distance running race ever and I'm pretty excited!