You don't drive like this?

So this post is possibly going to really annoy anyone who is trying to get into running but isn't quite there yet. Sorry. Feel free to skip it.

It's also a little cheesy but that's how it is. 

Have you ever had one of those runs where you just LOVE running? Where you don't care about pace, or time, and you aren't counting down the miles until you are done? I had the greatest run this morning, where I seriously was in heaven.

After yesterday's 22 miler, I wasn't sure how my legs would feel. My training plan called for 12 miles, but at 5am when my alarm went off,  I decided to do two of my usual 5 mile loops so I had the option of cutting it short if I needed to.

My legs felt really stiff the first 2-3 miles, but then I started feeling really good and decided to add two miles to this loop, making it a 7 and a 5 to stick with my original mileage plan. 

At some point I started doing some mental math and realized that if I did 12.5 my weekly mileage would be 50 miles, which is a personal high by like 10 miles, so I had to go for it. 50 is way better than 49.5. It also brought me to 35 miles in just under 24 hours! I was honestly having so much fun running I would have kept going but I had to get to PA for Mother's Day. 

I did 12.5 miles at a 9:42 average pace. It also helped that it was 50 degrees, windless, cloudless, and gorgeous out. If I had to write wedding vows for me and running, this would be it. Why can't I have this feeling during marathons?

After all those miles my legs needed some love. I foam rolled and stretched like a madwoman. Then this happened.

 Who doesn't leave the house wearing compression socks with their cute new dress? Also, it's totally normal to bring a cooler full of food and 15 water bottles on a day trip.

And who doesn't drive with ice packs strapped to their knees over their compression socks?

And if anything could make this day better, it was spending Mother's Day with my family. 6 hours in the car by myself listening to a book on CD was so worth it. We had a great time just hanging out outside, enjoying the weather. 

 

And the best part was we didn't even have to say goodbye, since I'll be going home in just a few days for my sister's graduation! And even more icing on the cake - my friend had a beautiful baby girl! She's my first friend that's my same age to have a baby - which means I'm getting up there in years.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and a wonderful Mother's Day!