A Good Trail Run

Here is a picture of Breesy watching the Saints' game with us last night. She had front and center on the seating arrangements.

I am definitely feeling pretty bummed about the Saints' loss. Thank you to everyone for not rubbing it in my face. For once, I didn't get a ton of heckling texts/phone calls last night. And no, I don't want to go to a Super Bowl party this year. I just want to be sad...with Kari....the other loser.

This morning I took my heavy heart to run my first 25k trail run ever. It was hard to stay sad with such a beautiful day!!!! I had no plans to run this race. I haven't even run this distance since IMWales. But, the opportunity presented itself last minute, and it sounded more fun to do my workout with others than all by my lonesome.

I still had to stick to my workout plan, which was a long run at zone 2 effort with some zone 3 in the end to make sure I didn't just trot the back half of the run. I started in the back of the pack and just chatted away with friends for the first hour. I have done so much solo running lately, and it was such a joy to be with others as we galloped through the forest.
As the miles ticked by, I felt so grateful and thankful for every blessing I have in my life, especially athletically. To be able to just run 16 miles, because I feel like it, is a dream. I felt very lucky today as I ran through the trails. I never would have thought there would be a day where I would go run a 25k at the spur of the moment because I felt like it.

I felt so good running today. I really picked it up the back half of the run and let my pace drop about 2-3 minutes per mile. My HR was staying down even with the increase in speed, and that was a good thing to see. And at the end, it felt like just another easy run. Nothing hurt, and I didn't feel a lot of fatigue. It felt a lot like adventure racing....just a fun day making your way through the forest. It was so nice to be off of the road and just running for the joy of running.