Sunday RUNday

I woke up this morning knowing that I would be running today. Regardless of whether I wanted to or not, I needed to, so that was exactly what I was going to do. Before heading to bed last night, I had decided that I would head out as soon as I woke up, in order to get my day off on the right foot and to avoid any sort of summer heat. However, when I actually did wake up this morning, things didn't exactly go as I'd planned.

I woke up fairly early but my back was bothering me (the very reason that I'd skipped out on a Saturday run) and I was still a bit "yawny," so I rolled over to the cooler side of the bed and fell back asleep. I woke up shortly thereafter, remembered that I'd dozed off while watching a movie last night, and decided to finish it up before I left the confines of my comfy bed.

Once the movie was over, though, I knew that I had to stop putting off the inevitable, so I got ready to head out the door. It was then that I realized that all of my gadgets (cell phone, Nike+ Fuel Band, Fitbit Ultra, and iPod) were all in need of charging, so I plugged them in and anxiously waited for them to be good to go. Twenty minutes and a last-minute bathroom break later, I was driving to the trail.

I had hoped to do 9 miles today but that just wasn't in the cards. The first 3 miles were awful... I got shin splints in my left leg before making it to Mile 1 and my brain felt like it was boiling by the time I'd reached Mile 2. Once I finished the full 5k loop, instead of going on like I'd planned, I was forced to take a break. I devoured an energy gel and sucked down nearly 40oz of water like it was nothing.

I took a short break to buy some more water at a local convenience store, and then got right back to it...

The second 3 miles were much better... I was properly hydrated and refueled, the shin splints had subsided- thanks to a few Advil, and I felt entirely capable of doing 2 more loops to total the day at 9 miles. However, despite only being 81 degrees, there was nary a cloud in the sky, so the sun beating down on me felt pretty brutal and sucked all of the bounce out of my step by the time I finished 6 miles on the trail.

Even though I was disappointed with my lack of mileage, I felt fairly accomplished. Instead of stopping after the first attempt, I refocused and got right back to it. In addition, I experienced a priceless moment which made my entire day... Mid-way through my second 5k, I ran past a little girl today who exchanged a wave with me and who I then heard say, "Mama- can I be like her? She's nice and looks cool."

It was a great reminder that you never know who's watching and who you might inspire, so don't give up!