My Journal and Running (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

Last week I went into some basics of the journal I have been keeping.  A big part of it revolves around my running.  Here are a few items that are specific to that.


I have my 2018 Race Calendar.  I list all of the races that I have done or plan to do throughout the year.  If there is a race I'm thinking about, I list it with it's date in pencil.  For next year (2019), I want to add an extra row at the bottom for the 2020 race dates that I'm interested in.  That way I'm not always looking up a specific race/date online.

My plan in the next couple weeks is to create a list of races that I want to do again, or interest me and the month that they are usually run in.  That way I can do a quick glance of races and the time of year.  And the great thing with the discbound journal is that I can slip that right in after my 2018 Race Calendar as well as put it into my 2019 journal.

Right now I am just running 2-3 times a week with nothing specific to train for.  Before, when I am training for a race, I would use different things to track my schedule.  Mostly, I would print out calendar months and put the mileage on them.  I do like having it in my journal better because I always know where it is and it's not all crumpled up cause I put it in my work bag or something like that.  I had put what I planned to do in pencil (since that seems to change every so often depending on my schedule or injury) and then came back and put the mileage in pen.  I don't think I really want to change much to it, except, maybe making it neater. :)

On a weekly basis I track two things that have to do with my running.  The first is my mileage.  When I was in training, I would put how many miles I planned for the week, but now it's just a plan to run that day.  I also list my Functional Training class that I take at the gym.  The R/S to the right is if I rolled and stretched.  I like to keep track of that because when I am sore, I can look back and see if I did my stretching and if not, that's probably why.  And it's a good reminder to do it every day.


The other thing I track on a weekly basis is my water intake.  While I'm usually really good about drinking water, there are days that I just don't get enough in.  Tracking it helps me remember to keep drinking as well as looking back from a bad run to see if I had enough.


On a weekly basis, I don't really comment on my runs.  I use a separate log for that.  I've used this log for the last few years and like the format that tracks my stats.


I have thought of just doing the list of stats somewhere in my daily journal to see if I can see fluctuations between heart rate, spm, average pace, etc.  I created a page, but never got very far with it as I'm not sure if I like the format I set up. 


The last thing that I do keep in this journal is my race recap.  A race recap is too long to keep in my running journal.  They are also too long to include on my weekly pages, so I have separate pages for them.  I like to hand write my recaps before I post them here on the blog.  Mainly because I can put all the boring facts and feelings in there that would bore most of my audience.  I want to keep my race recaps for the blog to be the fun and interesting things.  The fun part of my handwritten recaps is that I try to find fun washi tape that matches the theme of the race to mark the pages so that they can be found easily.  For the Run and Ride, I found amusement park washi tape.


For my runDisney Star Wars, I found a ton of cool Star Wars washi tape.  I also like to use themed or running stickers as well as cutouts from handouts that might be passed out during the expo/packet pickup.

If you keep a hand written journal, what do you keep track of for your running?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

My Journal (Friday Five Edition)

Over the years I've started many journals.  Most never lasted more than a week.  Mostly because in some aspects I'm a perfectionist.  I would forget to add something to my journal and it wouldn't be perfect and I would just give up.  Back in January I had started yet another one and to my great surprise, I'm continuing to use it.  For those interested in journaling I thought that I'd do a few posts on it.  This one will just be about the basics of how I chose the journal and process.


Back in January somehow I stumbled upon a post talking about Bullet Journals.  I had never heard of it and it intrigued me.  As I'm typing this out, I'm having a hard time trying to boil down what it is.  This is probably because it's an outline of what you can use to help you journal, plan, keep track of tasks, and even doodle.  Watch the 5 minute tutorial for more detail.

I love notebooks and have tons at home, but wanting something new for this lead me to a trip to one of the big office stores.  I LOVE office supplies, so I try not to go often as I always come out with something fun that I don't need.  While there I found something else that I had never heard of - a discbound notebook.  These allowed you to be able to add and remove pages as needed.  Lightning must have flashed as the combination of Bullet Journaling and discbound notebooks were the answers to what I knew lacked in me keeping up a journal.

I bought what I needed and headed home to start on my new journal that evening.  With ideas from the official Bullet Journal site and googling blogs, I had a basic setup.  I created the year calendar.


Then I created the Future Log.  When I first created it, I only did the first 6 months.  I created the last 6 months when we got closer to June.  This lists the items that I know.  Once I know something I'll add it to that list.  Sometimes it's not in date order and that bothers my OCD a little, but not enough to redo the page.  And also, the items I'm not sure about, but don't want to forget I put in pencil.


As I searched blogs for ideas, I liked the idea of tracking moods.  I have a page at the beginning of each month that is dedicated to   Over the long run, I ended up with a page that tracks my mood, sleep, and how tired I am throughout the day. Each month has it's own themed design to color in.


Then I have a monthly calendar at the beginning of the month.  Like the Future Log I add in the items I know and fill in others as I get them.  I like to decorate this page with stickers or punch-outs.


And then there is the weekly calendar.  Each week includes what exercise I plan for the week, tracking the medicine I need to take daily as well as my water intake. Then a place to journal events that will happen, tasks I need to do that day, what happened each day.


I also create pages for my running.  I have a race calendar.


When I was in training, I kept a training schedule, which includes planned miles and the miles I actually ran.


And I create pages for my race recaps.  I usually am able to get my thoughts down right after the race in the journal which helps when it takes me a few weeks to get the recap here.


It has evolved over the last 9 months, but I have come to a fairly consistent layout.  I look forward to creating each month and tweaking things as needed.  To me it feels like a cross of a journal, planner, and a place I can be artistic (in my own way since I can't draw).  I want to do a few more posts and go into detail in some of these items, like really how I use for my running, how items evolved, and the tools I use.

Do you keep a journal?  

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It's been a crazy week for me!

Monday I was supposed to run before work but it rained.  I even saw snow flakes in the air as I drove to work.  I don't run when it rains and it's below 50 degrees.  Too miserable.

Someone at my work has gotten a standing desk.  I was going to wait till I was full time to ask about it, but she said that she could get one, but the company wouldn't pay for it.  I had a standing desk for years and loved it, so I checked Amazon just to see what they had.  I wasn't planning on buying one right away, but I found one that had a 25% coupon.  That deal was too good to pass up.  It arrived Monday and got it all set up.  Love it!

Tuesday I went to my FT class at the gym.  Just a normal class.

I got a call the day before from my eye doctor who said that I was going to have to reschedule my May appointment I made last year.  Either I could go Tuesday to the office across town or wait till the end of June.  Since my contacts have been crazy dry, I opted to go on Tuesday.  I schlepped across town in the middle of the day for my appointment.  He has me trying new daily contacts (my last ones were monthlies).  These are of the latest technology and a lot more expensive then the ones I've had for years.  We will see how they work for me.

That evening I went to a meetup for those that do the same thing I do.  I don't know if they have it for other industries, but in IT there are monthly meetups for everything from .Net to SQL to Networking.  Mine is about the Agile community.  Each month there is a different speaker to discuss different aspects of the community.  The topic interested me, and while I didn't feel like I learned anything new, it made me feel better that I was on the right track.  I also saw someone there from my last job.  It was interesting to catch up and hear what's happening over there now.

Wednesday I got out and did my 5 mile run.  It was around freezing again and I wore my new fleece tights I had gotten a couple weeks ago and it hasn't been cold enough when I ran to wear.  I was worried that the waist was a little loose and I'd just spend the run pulling them up, but it never did that.  They also had a draw string that helped as well.  These are definitely a keeper.

While my knees started feeling better on my runs last week, Wednesday it felt tight again.  No sharp pain to make me stop running, but it nagged at me the whole run.  I probably shouldn't have done the full 5, but I haven't been running much lately and felt like I needed to get them in.  I had a PT appointment that evening and he worked a bit on the same area as last week and found some interesting spots around the same place, but on the outside of the leg.

Wednesday night I had another bad night's sleep.  I hadn't been able to sleep through the night and am up for 2-4 hours in the middle of the night.  My mind is just racing so much that it wakes me up and I can't get it to stop to be able to fall back asleep, even with all my little tricks.  I still dragged myself to the gym for my class.

With the Ukrop's 10k on Saturday the Expo is held Thursday and Friday with no packet pickup the day of the race.  I headed there after work on Thursday.  They had changed venues and I had to go across town to get there.  I understand why they changed venues as the race has grown and where they normally have it, there isn't enough parking.


Of course I got there after work with most people, and I knew it would be a pain to get in and park.  I have done several events there and knew that there was plenty of parking.  What I didn't understand was, with several entrances, why they had the cars come in where people had to cross the traffic to get into the building.  So there was a lot of stopping to wait for pedestrians as well as when you were walking to the building a lot of waiting for cars to pass.  That could have been done a lot better.

The expo itself looked identical from the last venue.  I got my bib, shirt, and shuttle ticket.  I ran into a running friend and said hello.  I didn't see anything interesting at the official merchandise section.  And all the other booths were the same.  I dropped off a pair of used sneakers.  Looked to see if anyone had my shoes with a good discount (they didn't).  And then I couldn't find my way out!  This was not a very big Expo, just everything was high enough not to see any doors.  And there were no signs for exits.  I asked a volunteer and he pointed me in a direction.  I still couldn't find it and eventually after looking around a corner I saw a door.  I was free!

Thursday night was another horrible nights sleep.  It even got to the point where I just got up and started getting things ready for the race on Saturday.  Awake for another 3 hours in the middle of the night and falling back asleep just in time for the alarm to go off.

Friday I did get up for my run.  It was now in the mid 50's which meant shorts and a shirt.  So different from Monday and Wednesday.  I wanted to get another 5 miles in, but I told myself that if my knee hurt I would stop.  And if it was tight I would only do 3 miles.  Within the first 100 feet it was tight, just like it was on Wednesday.  So 3 miles it was.  As I was heading round to finish the second mile I kept thinking of the fact I had a 10k the next day and a weekend of running next weekend.  I looped around the block and called it quits at 2 miles.  This close to races I'd rather rest then get the miles in that I need and hurt myself further.

That afternoon I had to take my old lady cat to the vet for more blood work.  While a month ago we found her kidneys are doing wonderful, her liver numbers were very low.  She doesn't act like a cat that has something wrong, as she has just been her normal self.  The vet has her on a daily pill and wanted to see how the numbers were as well as check her thyroids.  Well the pill was helping and the issues is definitely her thyroid.  So she doesn't have to take the daily pill anymore, but has a daily liquid now.  We will be back in a month to see how that is doing.


After the vet I dropped her off and headed downtown to meet my parents for dinner.  We have a yearly subscription to local plays around the city.  This play was Romeo & Juliet and it was at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which also has a really good restaurant in it.  We had a good dinner and a wonderful bottle of wine.  We were taking our time as we thought the play started at 8 and by the time we made our way down a little after 7:30 we found that it did start at 7:30.  Thankfully the people there know us and there were no assigned seats so we made our way down the side to some vacant seats.  I've seen this play many times, but I have to say the lead actors were very good.  And looked very young.

Saturday morning I got up and headed down to the Ukrop's 10k.  I met up with friends before the race.  I ran it on my own and while it was very hot, I felt very strong for the whole race.  My knee was a little tight the whole time, but nothing like it was Wednesday or Friday on my training runs.  There might be hope for the knee next weekend.  We all met up after the race for brunch and to catch up with everyone. 


I went home and showered and took a nice nap.  After a long week, a hot race, and a few mimosas at brunch I really needed it.  Then I went out to dinner with a friend.

Sunday I did nothing!  Well I did get my laundry done, but really that was about it.

See what a busy week I had?  I get to turn around and do it all over again, but this time heading down to Florida for a runDisney race weekend.  I'm going to need some time off when I get home just to rest from these last couple of weeks.

How was your week?  Did you run the Ukrop's 10k?  Was it hot or what?  Have you seen Romeo and Juliet before?

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!

Weekly Wrap (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

With the time change yesterday, I felt like the whole day got away from me.  It didn't help that while I knew the time changed, I didn't bother changing my clocks till the evening.

Last weekend I took off running so that I could rest my legs after Princess.  I ran a couple of times but just felt blah and my legs were heavy.  It was a good decision just to skip my long run on Saturday.  Monday rolled around and I had 4 miles on the schedule.  Well I didn't realize that I also had a conference to go to for work and I had to be there at 7.  That meant that I would have had to get up a couple hours early just to get my run in and that was not going to happen, especially on a Monday.  I deserved another rest day, didn't I? :)

Tuesday I want to the gym for my FT class.  We are still in that area out in the open and no one is using the classroom.  We still don't understand why we were kicked out.

Wednesday I got out for a run.  It felt good and I enjoyed being out there in the morning when it wasn't dark.  I knew this was the last week for that.  When I got back I realized that I had 4 miles planned and I only did 3.  Oh well.  I did get to see this very pretty sunrise.


Wednesday evening I went to PT and while nothing really was hurting for him to work on, my quads were still really tight from the Princess Half Marathon.  He worked my right glut, which really needed it and then my left hip area.  Right at the joint on the side.  And OMG, I haven't felt that kind of pain from the PT in quite awhile.  That one area radiated down to my quads, IT band, and glut.  I knew that the pain would make everything feel better once it was worked out.  It just needed to be worked out.

Thursday was another gym day.  Nothing too exciting there.  It was a good opportunity to work out my hip from PT the day before.

Friday I was feeling good, so I added a couple extra miles.  I was already up a little early and had 3 planned.  I got out and decided that I would start my 4 mile loop and see how I felt.  I could always cut that to 3 miles if needed.  My IT band bothered me a little from PT two days before but it wasn't a pain I felt like I needed to worry about.  I ended up doing an extra mile for a total of 5.  By the end my IT band was feeling better.  It really was a good run.

Saturday I planned on doing at least 9 miles.  After a good run the day before, I thought I would be motivated for another really good run.  Well I talked myself out of it.  And it really wasn't that hard.  It wasn't the weather or any pain I was having.  I was just tired and didn't feel like going out.  Maybe on Sunday.  I did get my benefits for my job done, as well as my taxes filed.  So I was productive somewhat.  A friend came over and we went to Fuddruckers.  They had closed the one near my house years ago and they opened one a little north of the city awhile ago.  We wanted to check it out and see if it was as good as we remembered.  He said the burger was good but the turnkey burger was not.  We probably won't be back any time soon.  We did end up watching Office Space after dinner.  We haven't seen that movie in ages and it still makes me laugh.

Sunday I thought I'd try to get my missed run in from Saturday.  Even if I didn't get the whole 9 miles done, I thought I would get some.  I got up and got dressed and went downstairs and just couldn't get further then that.  The thought of running was just something I didn't feel like going out to do.  I'm not sure if I'm getting back into my running rut or not.  I hope not as I had such a great couple months of getting back in the swings and really enjoying it again.

I thought maybe if I had a treadmill I might have run.  It just seemed to take so much energy to get outside.  I really don't have the room as is, and would have to move a lot of furniture around, including a huge desk in my office.  I did do some research and did find a couple that I liked, but I'm not sure if I really should spend the money on it.  Do I buy one used?  And is it really safe to have something like that upstairs?  I might be able to put it in the front room, but that's where all my knickknacks are.  Would they be safe or would they rattle with the running?  A lot to think about.

How much time do you take off after a race?  Have you seen Office Space?  Do you have a treadmill?  How did you change your living area for it?

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!

Princess Expo 2018 (Friday Five Edition)

I realized that I didn't get any photos of the expo buildings or area.  Oh well, you will have to use your imagination. :)  I'm not sure if this is normal for the Princess Weekend Expo, but the first day didn't open up till noon.  I had been to other runDisney expos and they all had opened first thing in the morning.  The noon opening worked out well for me as I didn't get to Florida till after 1, and not getting to the expo till 3.


1 - Buildings
This year, just like Marathon Weekend, they had put the official merchandise in it's own building.  I found this to be so much better.  It meant more walking, but everything just felt a bit more spacious and less claustrophobic.  Bus drop off was in a different location too, but about the same amount of walking so that didn't make much of a difference.  I knew that the official merchandise was in a different building and I had walked right by it.  I think I was thinking that there was a third building back with the other two and didn't even look at the first building.  I could have actually looked at the map that I had, or the one that I printed out, or looked online before I got there, but I didn't.

A=Official Merch, B=Bib Pickup, C=Expo, E=Kids Races

My first stop was to get a beer on tap with my runDisney cup.  I've done this at every expo that has the cups.  The new thing is some sort of alcoholic flavored sparkling water.  I tried that instead of beer and really liked it.

2 - Bibs
I headed and picked up my bib.  I didn't notice a third building back there, but still wasn't sure where the official merchandise was.  Again, I could have looked at several maps, but at this point I was going to get my bibs, shirts, check out the expo and figure out official merchandise later.  I was running the 5k and Fairy Tale Challenge, so I had 2 bibs to pick up.  While I was there I heard several people mention that the wait to get into the Official Merchandise was 2 hours.  Hmmm, not sure if I wanted to wait that long.  But I would check out the line when I finally found the place.

3 - Expo
I headed over and got my shirts, which were in the building with the expo booths.  That area was so much nicer to walk around.  While there were still a ton of people, it didn't feel packed.  Since the booths could spread out and use the space that the official merchandise usually uses, the walk ways were wider to allow more people to pass by.  I did see that Sweaty Bands was having a sale, so I picked up a few of those and headed over to get my shirts.  I looked at them long enough to try one on to make sure it fit fine and put them all back in the bag.  There wasn't much that I wanted to do there, so I headed out.  I did remember to buy a rolling stick from The Stick for my friend C who forgot to get it while she was there.  Now to find the Official Merchandise.

4 - Official Merchandise
My friend K had gotten the Race Retreat which meant that they could get into the expo at 10, instead of noon.  Fretting the merchandise that I wanted would be sold out by the time I got there, I gave her my shopping list.  She was awesome and was my personal shopper.  I still wanted to see the merchandise in person and planned on looking around and getting at least my "I did it" shirt that I knew wouldn't sell out so I didn't ask her to get it.

My other friend C, that had gotten there a couple hours before me said that the wait to get into the official merchandise was 2 hours.  Her family was there and she didn't want to wait in that line.  She asked if I would get her a Challenge Pin.  I wasn't sure if I would wait in line for 2 hours, but after asking a volunteer where to go, I went to check out the line.

I slowly realized that I had walked right past the building and kinda felt a little dumb.  They did have the race banners out of the main traffic near the building.  I thought that was nice.  I got my picture with the Fairy Tale banner and headed in to check out the line.


We were lead down a long hallway to a room on the right.  I knew that was probably the start of the line and that more lines would probably be across the hallway on the left.  It didn't look too bad in the room.  I waited in line for about 15 minutes till we were ushered across the hall.  And to my surprise we were in the Official Merchandise area!

I was shocked on how big the area was.  I didn't even think about taking a photo or video while I was in there.  The first couple rows of merchandise was their new Character Performance Wear.  It was tech clothes that was supposed to look like a character.  I didn't understand the characters till someone pointed them out to me.  They were cute, but I tend to buy most of my training clothing on the clearance rack.

The next rows each were dedicated to each race.  And there were still tons of merchandise of everything.  There were still Sweaty Bands.  There were still Pins.  There were still lots of everything that I could have wanted.  I guess K didn't really have to be my personal shopper, but you know Murphy's Law.  I picked up the pin for C and got my I did it shirt.  I did fall in love with the Fairy Tale jacket.  I just loved that color.

There was a section for just runDisney merchandise that is not race specific.  Here is where I found the lack of merchandise and sizes.  I had been eyeing a runDisney shirt online and thought that I might pick it up at the expo.  There they did not have my size.  I found a really cute "Race Day Checklist" that was princess themed that was really cute.  None in my size.  And then there were these shorts that I would have bought in a second.  Not in my size.  I found that interesting as they always have plenty stock of the generic runDisney items.

I did see that they had their personalized artwork for sale there.  Since I'm not a huge princess fan I didn't go over to that area.  But I do like that they are starting to do it at most of the races I have been.  It makes for such a special keepsake from the race weekend.

I got the couple things I came for and headed to the checkout line.  I probably waited about 20 minutes there, but the line moved quickly.

5 - Pre-purchased  Merchandise
I usually get the pre-perchased items as they are usually cute.  In the past they used to be something that you could not get at the expo, which made them special.  The last couple years I had found that they are the same as in the expo, but it was good to get them early as they usually sell out quickly.  This year, they were the same as in the expo and there were plenty of them when I went.  As for the pre-purchased jacket, I have gotten in the past and really had not liked the design and last year they stopped taking returns.  I decided that since I was not really into princesses, I would skip the jacket.

As I walked out of the official merchandise area I almost walked out without picking up my items.  Thankfully I heard someone mention them as I was heading out and made a u-turn.  I picked up the items, an ornament, figurine, and magnet.  The ornament was the same type as races past, which was a very cute running shoe.  The figurine was my favorite.  A very cute running Minnie Mouse.  When I saw the jacket I was so glad I didn't get it.  Not really my favorite design.

I got a picture with running Mickey and headed out.  I was exhausted!


I stopped and got a picture with Cinderella's carriage.  The volunteer that was helping to take photos said that it was her favorite job.  That was so awesome to hear.


Final loot:

Extra - Disney Springs
A new thing that I noticed was that they had a stop for Disney Springs in the bus loop at the expo.  This was a good thing as it meant I didn't have to go back to the hotel to head out there.  I wanted to get dinner (I was famished) and go to the Disney store.

I headed to Paddlefish for dinner.  I've been there a couple of times and it has not disappointed.  My favorite item there is the Crab Fries.  Yummy.  I ended up getting the Salmon which was very good.  Between the fries, salmon, and the bread for the table I was stuffed and had to take some of it back to my room.


I headed over to the Disney store after dinner.  I like to look around and I have a couple birthdays coming up that I wanted to see if I could get items for them.  It turns out that about 2/3 of the store was under construction.  There were still the same amount of people in the store and in that less space made it very claustrophobic.  I got a couple things and got out of there as quickly as I could.

I remembered buses near the Rain Forest Cafe side of Disney Springs and verified on the map that buses were still there.  When I got there I found that section was closed.  WTF?  I had to walk all the way across Disney Springs to get to the buses.  I was tired and just frustrated at that point.  I didn't need all this extra walking right before 3 days of races.  Oh well.

Where do you like to eat at Disney Springs?  Do you like to get to the expo right when it opens or wait till the crowds clear out some?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Princess Weekly Wrap (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

Just a quick update of my week.

Monday we had off for President’s Day. I haven’t had that day off since I was in school. I ended up going to the movies to see Black Panther. It was good. Very beautiful and a couple cool fight scenes. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were very boring and nothing to report except i was getting ready for my trip. 

Thursday I flew down to Florida. For once I actually had a late morning flight instead of one of the first to leave the airport. 

Once in Florida I headed to the room. Candace had beat me there and checked in. She headed to the expo and then meet her family. Her husband drove the kids down last weekend since it was their spring break. 

There were some changes to the expo which were welcome. I felt less closterphobic with the official merchandise moving to its only building. I then headed to Disney Springs for dinner. 

Friday was the 5k. We basically walked the whole thing. 

We then cleaned up and headed to Animal Kingdom. We rode lots of rides and hung out with her family. 

Saturday was the 10k. We were in separate corrals and I didn’t want to hold her back as I knew she was going to meet up with her family. She started in the corral behind me and we still finished at the same time. She headed to breakfast and Epcot with her family and I had some much needed rest at the resort. 

Sunday was the half. I assumed that Candace would run ahead of me as she is a lot faster. But it turned out that she was having a lot of pain in her shin so she ended ended up walking a lot. I just stuck by her as it was more fun to have someone to be with then to do it alone. Though my legs were not prepared to walk that much and kept cramping. They needed to run more. I never thought that I would ever need to run more then walk. That’s just crazy. 

Candace has started her long car trip home and I’m headed to a celebration dinner with other Princesses that I haven’t seen yet on this trip. 

How was your week? Any other Princess runners out there?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

What I Love About Running (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

A few years ago I got this shirt.



At that point it was really true.

I love to plan.  So getting a training schedule together and putting it on a calendar is something I live for.

I love knowing I accomplished something great.  Weather it was a three mile training run or finishing a marathon.

But the actual running part?  BLECK!

And now?

For the most part all of that is still true.  After not running much for 9 months and enjoying some needed time off from running.  Not getting up super early to get the miles in before work was bliss.  But there was something missing.

Now that I'm back into the swing of things I still love the planning.  Looking at my week and see what days I have to run and how many miles.

The getting up early is hard, but I still love the accomplished feeling I get after finishing a run.  To know that I accomplish something very few people do.

Over the last year or so I have come to enjoy the running part.  Well at least when I get in the zone.  Thoughts of the day come and go.  My checklist goes through my head.  Blog ideas come to me.  While nothing gets solved in my head, it helps to just let it flow.

And I really do love my wall.

What do you love about running?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.