Ooops, Monday...

My friend was in town this week. We went to Toronto on Monday and I missed my three mile run. I was going to add a mile to each of the next days, but decided against it. I don't want to get hurt. I should be okay.

Training went well this week. I love this! I ache and am tired when I am finished, but I am injury free (knock on wood) and enjoy getting out, listening to music and running.

Now I am trying to pay attention to my diet as well. I notice that when I eat like crap, I feel like crap, and my run isn't as good. Summer is the perfect time to concentrate on eating well with all the fresh fruit and vegetables available. And our garden is looking good. We have lettuce and radishes. Yummy!

Even without my three mile Monday run, I am able to muscle through the Saturday eight mile run. I take my bottle of Gatorade with me. I like to sip as I run. The trainer comments that I don't need to bring my own drink because they provide it, but I need it before and after the three mile mark. I need to hydrate and replenish!

Since we were to run eight miles, our run consisted of an out and back to the four mile mark. See how clever we are to figure that out? At mile three, we have beverages and encouragement. And when I had three miles left, I said, hey, only three miles to go.

And I meant it. Only three miles to go and I felt good. Ron, a former Team In Training member and current mentor, was on the run with us. He was encouraging. I told him to try yoga because it helps and he kept encouraging me telling me that no matter how fast I was running, I was still out there making a difference. Sometimes that's all you need.

And Shiela is one of our more seasoned runners. I think she is in her 70's and ran her first marathon when she was in her 60's. She is often on the trail with us. She inspires me. If she can do it, so can I.

I told Ron that my mantra becomes, you can do anything for a mile. He liked that I was able to break it up into smaller increments. He thought that would help.

So far so good.

And I've run eight miles! Woo hoo!