Monday Musings...

So I should've known this morning was not going to go as planned when I went to bed at midnight and realized my alarm was set for 5am for a now routine Monday morning run. Let me tell you I like sleep. I am used to functioning on little of it when work gets busy, but I do enjoy it. I have learned that I definitely need more than 5 hours of sleep to be functioning enough for a run... Well, the alarm went off at 5 and I was soooo tempted to hit snooze. It was just glaring at me so gently. It was telling me "you can run tomorrow so sleep ... just sleep!" But, I ignored it. I got up and got myself ready for a run.

Now I normally always run in my Lululemon capri pants, but I have seen so many people rocking the running shorts I wanted to give them a try. So I borrowed my wife's pair of Lululemon shorts this morning. I can tell you this is big for me. I am not really a shorts person. If you have read my rants about the bathing suit process, you would know I cannot stand my thighs. They are just large and in charge and I like to hide them as much as possible. So, even trying these running shorts was stemping out of my comfort zone.

Now, from the new place. The walk to the lake is less than 9 minutes, 8:30 to be exact. Yes, I used my Runkeeper to track it. Hey, I was a math major - I like to be accurate. :P Once, I got to the lake, I knew I made the right choice of getting up for the run when I saw this...

Just amazing! This sight makes me remember why I get up so early to hit the trail.

I should've known from the start it was going to be a tough run. My Nathan belt bottles were leaking so the back of my shirt was nice and wet. The belt was also twisting a lot (for some reason my safety pins weren't working to hold it in place this morning). My ankle was aching. My hamstring was tight. My back was sore. The shorts kept riding up. I spent the first two miles adjusting all this, while trying not to wallow in the downward spiral that was the run/my thoughts.

I had to push through and I was when I caught this gem at the halfway point...

Simply breathtaking. This gave me the kick in the pants to turn around and finish the run I had started. My first mile was at about an 11:00 min/miles pace and I ended up finishing 6 miles in 1:02.13 (10:21 min/mile). Not the best pace, but a lot better than what I started at.

I was proud of myself for sticking with the run and not quitting. I could've done so at multiple times, but I didn't. I saw through what I started ... even if I felt pretty crappy the entire time.

I have learned one and for all that I am NOT a running shorts kind of person! I cannot wait to go back to my capri pants next week. Not only did they ride up, but I am just too self conscious. I kept wondering how bad my thighs looked in them. Wondering if other people on the path were noticing how bad I looked in the shorts. I am just not mentally tough enough to pull off that look.

Thankfully, I was able to come home and sit down on my back deck and take some time to write about the run. I think I have found a new space to blog from... :) Look who joined me: