That's what I'm Talking About!

Finally! Dailymile isn't lying to me!

You're darn right it was fantastic!  I set out to do everything I said I was going to do.

• 4 days of running.  Check
• 1 5-6 miler: Check
• 1 Hill run. Check.
• 1 Easy run. Check
• 1 Long run. Freaking check plus!

Bam!

I know that these miles aren't breaking any records, but I am so freaking proud of them.

Let's talk about that 10 miler, shall we?  I was so nervous about my long run this week. Last week's long run was an epic fail and I was pretty sure that my fragile mindset was not going to be able to handle another dismal outing.

I spent the weekend visiting my family back home in Philadelphia. A few days beforehand I spent about an hour mapping out the perfect downtown route only to find out that my route was also about most of the Rock and Roll Philly Half Marathon route, which was the same day. I spent about a day wondering if I should just register for the race even though I am not fully prepared. However, I could not justify spending the insane about of money that it would have cost to register at the expo.  It freaking sucks being a grown up and having to make mature financial decisions. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty bummed.

However, after I had a good little whine about it and picked myself up off of the floor I set out to find a new route. I picked Ridley Creek State Park, just outside of the city. I read some good reviews about  a 4.3 mile multi-use trail loop and it sounded good to me. I planned to run the loop twice and add a little extra at the end to get up to 10 miles.

I could not have picked a better day. It was sunny and in the 60's at the start.

The trail was awesome. There were tons of people out and lots to look at to pass the time. It was also great to run in a place where I didn't know every last detail about the route. I know most of my routes to the last inch and sometimes I find it hard when I am telling myself, "Ok, there is a steep hill in 0.3 miles" or "2 more miles of hills and then I can get a break". It was a welcome change to not know what was coming up.

 At the beginning of the loop was a seriously steep hill that lasted for over half a mile. I let myself walk up that one, but the rest of the loop was smooth sailing. My second time around I found some off shoots to explore so I could make up the miles. I had absolutely no desire to tackle that hill for a third time. 

By the time my Garmin chirped 10 miles I was smiling. It was a great run and exactly what this girl needed.

I found a nice little water fall to do some stretching afterwards. 

My photography skills are astounding.

This was a perfect ending to what I truly think was the best week yet of this training cycle. Exactly what I needed.