More than 280 miles later...

Hello all! It has been way too long since I've posted an update here. To be exact, it's been more than 280 miles since the last post!

Things are going well and running is still very much a part of our lives. As a matter of fact, we just ran the Walt Disney World Marathon this past weekend in Florida. Training was tough considering that we live in Chicago and the average high in the winter is about 20-25 degrees (freezing!) But we managed to do it once again and finished with better times than our first. 4:35:50 for me and 4:32:18 for Calvin! The best part was around mile 10 or 11, running into the Magic Kingdom, down Main Street, around and then through the castle. I never would have imagined 10 years ago that I would be running 26.2 miles through the Disney Parks.
The wall did appear for me this time around though, and it was huge and massive. When I reached mile 21 or so, I thought there was no way I could finish running another 5 miles. My legs felt like rubber, the course had turned into an endless eternity of paved highway, Dinsey's bibbity-bobbity-boo song kept blaring through the on-course speakers (I've never hated that song more) and my left knee was not happy with my idea of fun being a 26.2 mile run through the parks. But thanks to countless words of encouragement from Calvin, I was able to pick up my feet and run some more. I'm not sure what would have happened had I not met up with him again at mile 17 (we split up between Epcot and Magic Kingdom), but never mind that, I finished!

Definitely not as sore as I was after Chicago so I'm taking that as a good sign. I am already itching for a new goal to keep me running through the rest of the winter months. Not sure yet what it will be but I don't think I could ever stop running at this point. I promise I will keep you posted!

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