Week 3-Hitting my stride

I have the need, the need for speed...or rather the need to just simply cross the finish line in October, but nonetheless, I felt fast today after running 6 miles.  I'm not sure why these 6 miles felt like such an accomplishment because I've done a lot more before but I guess after the week of running that I've had, I wasn't sure I would make it all 6 today. 

I started the week at Urgent Care with one eye swollen shut from some mutant poison ivy that apparently lives in the bushes around my house.  After waiting for over two hours with a toddler who was screaming incessantly because he thought that he was there for shots and a "doctor" (and I use that term very loosely) that had to look everything up in a pocket "doctor" dictionary, I was certainly not in the mood to run but I forced myself to get it done.  After what seemed like forever, I finally finished my run and a crappy Monday.  The rest of the week I ran on the treadmill while my little guy napped because he was in no mood to sit still in the running stroller with a 100+ degree fever and without sleeping all night. I do believe that running is, in large proportion, a mental sport and running on the treadmill mile after mile is not exactly the greatest for one's mental health.  Even after being sucked into a Lifetime Movie about a runaway teenager who gets pregnant at 14 and then has to change her identity in a new town, I still can't push away the fact that I am running and running and not going anyway.  The outside run is where it is at!!  

When Saturday morning rolled around, I was ready for my run and couldn't wait to get outside.  As much as I really wanted to stay in bed I knew the sooner I started, the sooner I would be at home playing with my little guy, so I hit the road.  After my Nike plus announced that I had 3 miles to go...I will admit that I started to feel a little dejected, but then I decided to run through a new neighborhood and new scenery seemed to be what I needed to kick it up a notch and get the job done. I felt a renewed speed and a second wind, and I was really enjoying my run.  I also saw another runner about three times during my run, which gave me a sense of camaraderie and the push to keep running, if she could do it, so could I...although she does look like she is an excellent shape and quite an avid runner.  She has so many gadgets...mental note: get more running gadgets.  Anyway, I digress, the run went well and I feel pretty good!

*Mental Status is positive and physically I'm feeling great!*

Bonus Section: In my infinite need for order and continuity, I have decided to include a song of the week that in some way inspired my run. This week: "Defying Gravity."