Weekend Warrior.

What a beautiful weekend! Sure, it started with rain. And wind. But it ended with sunshine, lots and lots of sunshine, and I enjoyed SO much of it out running, 11 miles to be exact!

The week wasn't great- I had lots of baggage to carry on my runs, but the more I ran, the lighter that baggage got. Did I get it all figured out, no. But do I feel much better, yes. Thank you, running. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Friday afternoon, before the rain, but not before the wind, I headed out for a run. I wasn't sure how far I was going to go, I just needed to go. After 1 mile directly into the wind (have I mentioned I HATE running in the wind??) I turned the corner-- literally and figuratively-- and had the wind directly at my back... it might as well have been pushing me along. The next three miles were great. I ran negative splits. I made some decisions. And 15 minutes after I got home, it poured outside.

Saturday, just as the skies began to clear up, I went out again. This time I took the D-O-G. Now, my dog isn't like Lassie... she doesn't talk, or listen for that matter. She isn't that dog that trots alongside her owner either. My dog bolts- fairly routinely- and can run upwards of 20 miles per hour. So, you may ask, why did I take her running?? Good question. Because we got her to be my running dog-- and I have been a REALLY BAD DOG OWNER. She is a dog made for activity and she has been made to lay around our house for the last 3 years, due to pregnancies and me needing to get back into shape. So... now it's time to start taking her out again, and somehow try to train her to run with me... not pull me. We went out for a brisk 3 miler... she was on the leash the entire time, and we were both tired at the end. Me, because of all of the extra energy I exerted trying to keep her next to me. Her, because she pulled so hard, so long, that she cut off most of her own air supply for a lot of the run. I've decided that I'll take her out again once the blisters on my hands from the leash heal...

And then today... Rob and I had a GREAT run! I haven't been out for a run with my honey in over a year. We went out this morning, sans the kiddos, for a quick 4 miles before our day of chores around the house started. When we first started dating we ran together all the time, then, life got more hectic, and we have to work out separately in order to work out at all. So, today was a treat. We chatted, and ran, and enjoyed each other for approximately 35 minutes. I guess that's enough... well, it's at least it's a start...

This week I ran 13.75 miles! Tonight, my legs are TIRED. My shins are aching, my quads are tired, I'm walking a little more slowly than I usually get around... I'm wondering how long my recovery will take. And, I'm thinking that I need to have a little more long term goal. I don't want to lose the 10 mile per week goal, but I want to add a longer distance goal. I think I'll start poking around for a 10K, or maybe even a half coming up... hummmmmmm.

Goals for this week:
1. Run 10 miles
2. Do Cindy- for real this week
3. Take Pippa out once
4. Look for a race to train for