5 things...22 miles...and a number of other things...

Looking at my Facebook feed, I think I must have missed some national running holiday because at least 6 different friends posted pictures from 5k's in at least 6 different locations. Of course, as a running enthusiast (ok...as a complete running dork!) I had to google and find out if national 5k day is a real thing, and it's not, but there is a national running day that happens each June. I'm fairly confident I unknowingly have been a participant the last few years!

Official and unofficial running holidays aside, my first of the Friday five this week has to be a kudos to all those friends who went out and raced this weekend. Fall running is the best; Saturday was a perfect race day, and you all rock for getting off the couch and onto the streets for a weekend jaunt. Kudos! Wish I would have raced!

As it happens, I did run quite a bit this weekend, but not in race mode...more like super training mode. Having plans to go see my family next weekend, I decided not to overlap my visit with my 22 mile training run, so Saturday became the designated day for the longest run of the training schedule. After waking up to frost on the ground and a balmy 38 degrees, I downed my bowl of cereal, donned my "super dorky" endurance running belt (and long sleeves for the first time in a while!) and headed out the door confident that it would be both a long morning, and that the massage I had schedule that afternoon would feel REAAAALLLLY good.

Both things wound up being true. Though the run was long, it wasn't actually that much longer than my 20 mile run last week had been. (I mean...ok...it was 2 miles longer...but timewise it was only about 3 minutes longer). And while I was struggling to walk post-run on Saturday afternoon, the people at Healing Touch Spa did wonders to loosen my legs back up. Also, fun fact, your neck and shoulders get tight after a long run, as holding your arms up in running position gets harder as you get fatigue. Generally speaking however, it was a pretty relaxed day as my run was stress and panic free, and I stayed well within myself and my pace while grinding through the miles.

So today I'm sore, and I limped around in my knee brace for most of the morning. However, with less than a month until I head to Chicago, I'm feeling good about having tackled and broken the 20 mile barrier.

2.

Away from running, this weekend was also the barrier between life pre-musical rehearsals and life heading into musical rehearsals. I wrote last time about the growing pains of getting on with the show at a new school. Well, the show's been cast...the scripts are hopefully in a box on the way enroute from New York,...and we can now get with it. And just because it's cute and fun, here's thing three. 

3. 

4. Wedding preview...I love these flowers!

And last but not least, a huge shout out to J Word for making my birthday this week exceptionally awesome! For someone who didn't make a big deal of birthdays growing up, he stepped up nicely into birthday planning mode. Tickets for a show over fall break...surprise manicure after school...dinner, pictures, and a hilarious operatic version of Happy Birthday at the hibachi steakhouse...movie night...good times!! 

Back to football. 

Happy Trails,