This weekend was fabulous and the week is off to an equally wonderful start… Saturday we went to a wedding in West Virginia.. the backdrop was beautiful.. the bride and groom looked great and everything went off without a hitch… Yesterday… we dodged some rain and thunder but ended up taking a boat ride to Bull Run and doing some wake-boarding… I was jumping as high as ever and you know you are having fun when even falling conjures up a scream of excitement… (ie I have learned to let go and fall backward instead of face-planting)

I slept in a little bit this morning because Sunday nights are always the best night for getting good rest for me… I decided to start off the week with a long run of 10 miles instead of rounding out the week with my “long run” - the most I had done at a time was 8 or 9 for the past month or so.. so on a hot July day with temperatures getting into the 80’s I was being a bit ambitious to think 10 would be pain-free… none the less… I went about filling the two small water bottles my “running belt” holds… got my cell phone and pepper spray… and a small towel for wiping the sweat I knew would accumulate and drip… looks and feels like stepping out of a hot shower once you hit mile 6 or 7… got my iPod hooked up and stepped outside on our front porch…

I knew if I stayed hydrated I would be fine.. but lately on my long runs my “new” shoes have been causing me a little bit of pain after 6 miles… today there was no pain - the shoes are perfect now…  I can only hope they will feel as good as they did today… on the day of the marathon (November 14th SunTrust Marathon in Richmond)

My run playlist lasts for about an hour… today I ran for a hour and forty minutes… it starts with “Float On” - this happens to be one of the songs we played “Rock Band” to while we were at the OBX… there were about ten of us in the house… everyone was familiar with the “video game” except me and Matt… at first when everyone started playing it (drums/singing/guitar) Matt and I said we would just watch… then before I knew it we were pounding out a rhythm on the little electric drums… or belting out a song that was either brand new or something we had heard and listened to hundreds of times….  It makes you feel like you are a rock star… since our trip to the beach there have been several times I catch myself imagining a song would be great for “Rock Band” -  Matt explained that while the game was fun he did not want me to get any ideas about buying it for him because it is expensive and really only fun when there is a large group around…

So today… as I am embarking on my 10 mile journey I was also embracing my inner rock star… listening to Float On, Wheel in The Sky,  Go Your Own Way,  Black Eyed Peas, Lady Ga Ga, Wyclef Jean, The Doors and Dave Matthews just to name a few… (what a music mix huh?)  - it is a good thing that the only thing on my route with ears is typically the four legged kind… dog or deer… every now and then I would belt out a line… or bang a fake drum… or strum a difficult guitar set.. and in my running world and mind as my feet kept a steady pace… I did all of those other things perfectly in tune with the music… and the combination of actions made me smile… that runner’s high they talk about went to a whole new level…  Even as I was ending the 10 miler… I felt like I could go 10 more… which is good because by the time November 14th rolls around I will have to go 16.2 more… (109 days and counting)