Today's Run:
10.01 miles, 1:47:02
Low 40's at the start, sunny, near perfect fall day

As you can see from the above pictures, it was absolutely gorgeous outside today! What you cannot see in the pictures is how much I struggled to get it done. It was purely awful at times!

I dropped the monster off at church and drove out to a nearby town to run on the golf cart paths. I parked at a gas station that is kind of in the middle of two larger loops - this proved to be a good strategy. I ran about 4 miles and was back at the car. I stopped to use the bathroom and bought some Gatorade. I also took a GU since I was already back at the car and could dispose of the trash. Also, I went ahead and took a GU because I was struggling and it was only 4 miles into the run. I thought about quitting at that point, but I kept going.

I felt better after the GU and ended up taking a new route and going exploring. I took a larger loop and finishing up pretty nicely back at the car. It wasn't all bad - I got to see some beautiful fall colors - I just love this time of year! I also left beautiful snot rockets all over the trails... kind of like a runner's take on Hansel and Gretel. Good thing my GPS didn't fail me, right?

My leg hurt for maybe about the first half mile and then did pretty good from that point on. I did stop to stretch every couple of miles. It's kind of sore and tight tonight, though. I just took my first dose of ibuprofen and finished icing it. I hope I'll be able to talk my husband into massaging it later - that really helped last time!

I don't know what it is about running - sometimes it is so easy and you feel like you're flying. Other times, it's like you're aware of every step and feel like you're torturing yourself for almost 2 hours. I always hang in there because I love how I feel when the run is finished - no matter how terrible it was while it was going down. Plus, I love eating when it's all said and done.

My husband likes to tell me that the runs that stink are the ones that build character. He barely runs. What does he know? No character was built today. Instead, it built a ginormous appetite and I put a serious hurt on a naked burrito from Moe's. The end.