Before and After Running Photos

I still have a LOOONG way to go...but what a difference two years makes!

Picture on the left is from A Shot In The Dark, Winking Lizard 2-miler in 2007 and the one on the right is from the 4-miler completed this past Saturday.







Like I said...there is still a long way for me to go, but it's nice to see the side-by-side changes so far.

Yikes

Crap. Ok. Here goes. I'm putting it out there, so no backing out...right?!

On October 11th, I am going to do the Towpath 1/2 Marathon . I am really hoping that completing the 10-miler earlier this year will help me to be prepared a little more for this race...I mean it's ONLY another 3.1 miles...Right?!?... Ha...

I am running away to Canada this weekend (ok, not literally running there) but then once I am back I will have 10 weeks to get it together and figure out this whole nutrition/hydration thingy because THAT is where I am really lacking. Well that and completing 13.1 miles...

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." ~ Mark Twain

Thursday morning (yesterday) I did something I have never really done before, or at least not as an adult and most definitely never before on purpose. I ran in the rain. Wait, did I say rain?, was that rain? or was it a mini-monsoon? Irregardless, there was lots of water falling from the sky when I woke up and yet I still proceeded to get dressed put on my running shoes and headed out the door...on purpose.

Previously I was always able to come up with a really good reason to not run outside when it is raining but I decided it was time to get back out there and run a race, the Winking Lizard race this Saturday in downtown Cleveland, and with a look at this weeks rainy forecast and more importantly the dismal looking forecast showing for Saturday night I figured I'd better just suck it up and go run. End result - I survived all 3 miles, it wasn't miserable, I think I actually came back smiling and most importantly I did not melt!

While out playing in the rain lots of things happened to me. I found out that although I may not melt in the rain, it has been charged as an accessory to murder in the death of my iPhone :( I remembered what it's like to not run with music and only with the voices in my head for company. I found out that I run at the same pace no matter what the weather brings. I accepted the internal fear I have for running on Saturday and ultimately for a race that is still 3 months away. I found out important things like my running socks although wringing wet when I got home where not squishy in my shoes and kept my feet feeling oddly dryish. I remembered the joy you can feel when splashing in a puddle. I remembered that I run for ME and no one else.

...it was a great morning.