I Wish All Of My Screw Ups Turned Out This Well

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 96.8 (running: 96.1; walking: .7; biking: 0) Elly's miles: 59.1  Money Found For Food Bank: $37.44

For everything that I've already screwed up to start off this round of training, and for the elements that were against me this week between the wind chills and today's ice, something has been going very, very right to have made this morning's 6 miles go so well!

That's a happy way to start a report if I ever heard!

I didn't exactly gear back up for 6 miles since, up 'til yesterday, I thought I was going 5 miles on Friday or Saturday. And, yesterday's decision to go an extra mile wasn't really the wisest decision if I wanted good energy on reserve for today. (Some people don't need it; this amateur does!) So, I just accepted that it might not be my best showing, and I didn't really put a lot of thought into it. The Half has many, many miles between now and then; these, right now today, don't matter that much.

Unless they go as well as they did, and then I say they matter in such a way that they are predictive of the entire training schedule! See how I spun that?

In truth, I take every run as it comes. I do my best that day, and it is what it is. I'm very thankful for a good showing today especially when yesterday's snow turned into today's ice:

I spent the first mile dodging areas and aiming to places that looked snowier than icy. Every step included a little extra effort as my feet slid just a tad backward while they found their stable point. And, those little, bitty slides add up. My thighs got more than they bargained for today! I ran that way for about a mile until the completely clear pavement in the street taunted me enough to lure me out there. I took advantage of the bike lanes and jumped between the street and snow-covered grassy areas as necessary. It was worth the gymnastics because the street gave me a break from the whole-body stability experiment!

I knew things were going well when I arrived at a hill I forgot was on the route. It's a hill that used to be the very bane of my running existence, not to mention I could only ascend it without walking every other time we met. Today, though, even though it was covered in snow, I cruised right on up. I was stopped at a light at the top of it which gave me ample time to look up and smile to God for everything I've been given in this running journey. It was kind of nice to be forced by a red light to just take pause. I would have thanked Him anyway, but to do so right at the moment of victory was pretty fabulous.

The rest of the route from that point was pretty uneventful. Oh, and some of it was pretty. See?

I've always simultaneously liked and been freaked out when I pass this tree:

That hole goes way, way down. I'm both fascinated and creeped out all at the same time!

So, if I'm going to mess up the schedule, at least it worked out well! I'm taking a break for the next two days (not even sorry about it!) and will pick back up as scheduled on Sunday! Have a great start to your weekend, and I'll be checking in!