8 miles, and then some..

i felt a little like Hansel and Gretel on my run today... following a trail of shortbread cookies, smeared with green icing, missing a bite here, broken in half there... up the longest hill of my 8 mile run. i ran that hill three times today, and each time i giggled a little at the idea of some small person tossing cookies out the window as mom/dad drove them to some end of festive season party.

it's a strange thing, what the body can do with just a little encouragement. during my scheduled 6 mile run last week, which turned out to be closer to 7... i felt best during miles 4 and 5... and struggled to complete mile 6 and beyond.

my runs during the week were just 3 miles, and each of them felt like a struggle from start to finish, like i never quite hit my stride. today's run started out the same way... i fought my way up the first set of hills, legs heavy and slow, breathing hard and fast... but after mile 3 i felt great.

hills, no problem. wind, no problem. cold air, no problem. 2 extra miles.... no problem. sort of. miles 4 through 6 felt great. mile 7 i started to feel tired, and had to push myself to keep running the hills... and mile 8 and beyond i probably walked half of the time.

fortunately, my sweetheart came to check up on me, right about the beginning of mile 8... i could have happily hopped in the truck with him at that point, but he pointed me in the right direction and told me he'd have a hot breakfast waiting upon my return.

(yet another sprinkling of "crumbs" to guide me safely home!)

and he did.