No sleeping in.

Yesterday was Sunday.  The kids weren't with me this weekend.  I could've slept in and enjoyed my comfy bed.  But, I didn't.  We set the alarm for 7:00 am - heck, that's sleeping in anyway, right?!  I hopped out of bed, got dressed and enjoyed my morning cup of coffee and some oatmeal.  Then we headed out to the Glacial Drumlin Trailhead in Cottage Grove.  It's worth the 15 minute drive.  It's one of my top three places to run (I seem to change which trail is my favorite on a daily basis!).  We were on the trail by 8:00 am.

 

 

I ran with my tunes on low and hubby went sans tunes.   We ran out to the five mile marker and turned around and ran back to the trailhead.  We were pretty consistently clocking 9:40-9:50 pace and the temperature was in the low-40's with a slight breeze.  I was feeling comfortable.  We saw a lot of bikes.  But, we saw absolutely no runners until the last few miles.  I had a feeling the trail was going to be jam packed later in the day, as the temps rose.  I always feel like I am a part of something AMAZING, when I run into other runners and pairs of runners out on my routes.  There is something about that friendly wave and nod of the head that makes me feel like I am a part of something special ... because it is.

 

Last two miles were extremely fast - and emotional - for me.  They clocked in at more than a minute faster than the first eight miles.  I cranked my tunes and focused on my breathing and not my legs.  I got into a rhythm and "danced" to my tunes as I could see the trailhead over the horizon.  The last two miles clocked in at 8:43 and 8:37, even with that crazy hill at the end of the trail.  I felt emotional as tears came to my eyes a few times.  When I'm in the zone, I'm in the zone - and I feel it - everywhere ... mind, body, heart.

 

We got to the trailhead and I think I had a huge smile on my face.  I needed that run - for myself, my sanity and my confidence.  We will be running a half marathon at the same location in two weeks.  I can't wait.  After some stretching at the picnic table, we stopped at the cute coffee shop at the trailhead and enjoyed some coffee to go. I love me some non-fat chai latte.  Heck, my Garmin said that I burned close to 1,200 calories.