Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

AHHHH...5 miles in last night and it felt great! Again, I am just so psyched about seeing sunshine that I feel like I need to spend every possible second outside, especially after being cooped up in an office all day. So far, that has been my motivation for longer runs. We'll see how long that lasts ...

I also found a running buddy. For the most part, I think I enjoy running by myself more than with other people. When I run with someone else, I fear I'm either holding them back/going too fast/not running far enough, etc. etc. etc. I'd rather enjoy my own thoughts and not have to worry about making someone else happy.

Then again, long runs are boring.

I can only listen to my iPod rotation so many times, and I can only go so far before I run out of things to think about, at which point I focus on nothing but every, last step until I finish. Five miles is about that breaking point for me. I ran with a friend last night who's preparing for a June marathon, and she was great company. She kept me talking the entire way and also helped pace me -- she has a heart rate monitor and pointed out our first 2 miles were way too fast. Without her, I would have powered on and probably pooped out by mile 3 or 4. So, add HR monitor to the list of gadgets, gear and clothing I want to buy before the real marathon training kicks in.

Another thing about this running partner - she is fabulous motivation. This woman is amazing. She's finishing law school this month, preparing to take the bar, running 2 tri's before the marathon and, of course, completing the marathon. Take speed much? Wherever her insane energy comes from, I'm hoping even a little dusting will rub off on me. I don't know how much we'll be able to run together with our weird schedules, but even once a week will be good for me, I think.