hilly 5 miles...

So far, 2012 has involved some great runs outside. The four mile run I had on Wednesday just felt amazing, and todays run was amazing but in a different way haha.

Wednesday was a very flat 4 mile run, and today I mixed it up a bit. I did a 5 mile loop that is a memorable loop for me. This route was my longest run when I was training for my first 10k back in October of 2010. I remember well heading out on Halloween afternoon with Erika and her pushing me to run my first full mile ever without stopping. And she pulled me through those miles one at a time (run a mile, walk a .1, run a mile, walk a .1). I learned a lot about how mental running is on that run.

And today was another mental run! It is a hilly run, and while my legs felt tired as points, I was proud of myself for never stopping to walk and just battling through. I kept reminding myself that once I got to the top of the hill, my legs would feel fine and I would just regret any step that I walked.

I took my Garmin with me today and kept it under my long sleeve shirt the whole time. I looked at it twice during the first four miles, and a few more times in the last mile. I am starting to realize how much better my runs feel when I dont look at my Garmin. I can think of so many times when in the past I have looked at it and said "I am going to fast, I have to slow down". But maybe I didnt really need to, ya know? So I have been trying to run more just by feel, and my pace is reflecting that. The amazing weather we have been having could be helping also...

Lately my mind has just been consumed with running, and while I love that (for the most part anyways), I am hoping I am not getting irritating to the loved ones in my life that don't care about running and are probably tired of hearing me talk about it. A huge part of me wants Shane to start running so badly, because it is something I love that I want to share with him. But I will not bug him about it because I know he does not really have an interest in it...

On another note, lately I have been noticing how much I bury myself in facebook and blogs each night. And I don't like it. I know a few people who have taken a facebook hiatus and I am starting to think about that some. I mean, I come home, eat dinner and then I switch between my iPad and my phone all night, checking blogs and updates and statuses. It is silly. I am worried I am missing what is happening all around me. And I have these moments when I get frustrated with myself because I post something on facebook and then later I go to tell Shane about it and forgot that he already knows because I posted it.

This post is all over the place but o well. Its my blog and no one really reads it so I am not too concerned about it.

I think thats all I have got for now...time to do a little cleaning and laundry, and take Mr. Hercules for a walk.

Have a great day and GO LIONS!