Haven't stopped running....

Although the thought has crossed my mind more than once. We ran 16 miles this past Thursday! I still find it hard to believe that we ran that far. I now sit here and actually enjoy the soreness in my legs because it's a nice reminder of that 16 mile accomplishment.
The training has been quite a struggle for me, thus the lack of updates recently. During long runs I am easily distracted by all the silly thoughts in my mind. Instead of letting go and enjoying the run, I often find myself questioning if I can really do it or where that nagging pain in my right knee is coming from.
However, during this run on Thursday, I think I finally realized that I just need to let go and stop worrying about the run itself. Here I am, about to run 16 miles (2.5+ hours), and I have all the time in the world to think and reflect on whatever I want. How nice is that? When does someone really have 2.5 hours to let their mind wander to whatever they want without feeling guilty about wasting time? So maybe I found the key to successful distance running or maybe it was just a lucky run. Whatever it was, I enjoyed it and look forward to more.

Harley does not run with me anymore. Maybe I'll attempt that challenge again when she reaches her first birthday. But for the time being, running with Harley is too much of a distraction for me, Harley and everyone else who ventures out on the trail. Not to say that Harley isn't allowed to run. Of course she gets to run, we just don't incorporate it into the training runs :)

"You feel good while you're running and you feel even better when you're finished." - Fred Lebow, founder of the New York City Marathon