5 miles before all-day training

Cloudy this morning - no beautiful sunrise today when I went out to meet Dad for a run:

I met Dad after about a mile, then we ran 2 together. Go Dad, go!

I sped up and did a couple more miles for a total of 5:

Good way to start the day before 8+ hours of tech training - woohoo :)

:)

No. 22

This week I finished The Likeness, the second novel by Tana French. I really enjoyed her first and now I want to read the third :)

I'd been putting off yard projects because I was so wrapped up in my book. I sat down Thursday night and finished it off -- so I could finally plant my impatiens and driveway garden.

The Likeness is a good murder mystery with a twist. A good read :)

Watch my big finish!

Finish line video has been posted from the Eugene Marathon - and I just watched myself finish!

WEIRD!

I don't look nearly as beat as I felt. WOOHOO! And I'm not running anywhere close to as fast and hard as I felt like I was running :) Funny how that works! The kick is all relative.

Check it out - I'm right at 2:48:


My buddy, Allen, is at 2:54

SO COOL :)

Scaly garden friend

Like everyone else enjoying our early summer, I've been working like crazy to get my yard ready for the season. It's looking SO good!

I was about to dig in to the planting bed in the front of my house last weekend when I was startled by this guy:

He was camouflaged in the bark and leaves, and I didn't seem him until I almost touched him with my gloved hand. Stretched out with his legs tucked beside him, he was about 10 inches long.

I left him alone and worked in another area of the yard. I checked back and he hung out there much of the day. Then he was gone.

Days later, I was filling my parents' truck with yard trimmings when I looked down on the driveway and spotted my little lizard friend again! This time my camera was nearby and I took a picture.

Next time I walked by, he was peeking at my from under the front porch steps. Next time, he was under the nearby bush. Then he was gone.

I'll keep looking for my little friend :)

Sunrise and baby ducks

Because I was running sans Dad this morning, I almost didn't crawl out of bed. Fortunately, I realized that if I skipped, I would have to run in the heat of the afternoon - and that is very unappealing :)

I eventually got out from under the covers and was rewarded with this:

And this:

Good way to start the day :)

3.66 miles at a 9:41 average:

Happy Thursday :)

50 races

In case ya'll didn't catch it, I just need to brag for a second that the Eugene Marathon was my 50th race! (Check out my race list)

My running career started in 2006 when I fell in love with racing. I loved the races much more than the running, but over the years I have learned to love the run, too :)

I squeezed in an extra little 5K before my big race so that my first marathon would be my 50th race. Somehow that's really important to me :)

So what's next?

I have the Hippie Chick Half Marathon this weekend, then some other fun stuff on my calendar. Join me! :)

My running buddy

The sun was almost up when I stepped out this morning for my run. Gorgeous!

Dad called me Sunday evening to see what the running plan was for this week! I love it!

He met me shortly after 6 a.m. for a jaunt through the neighborhood.

When he peeled off for home, I sped up and finished off my 4.25 miles.

I love getting my workout done early on these hot days :)