The Smell of Hops in the Morning

I hydrated like crazy yesterday and ate fairly well and the right Carb/Fat/Protein percentages.

I did eat something late last night that I thought would come back and hurt me. At 10pm, I was starving and Kevin walked to Subway and I had half a meatball sandwich.

I went to bed and slept like a baby. The weather (at least for now) is like fall. The high today in St. Louis was 75 degrees. When I pottied the dogs at 6:30 am and it was drizzling rain and a bit chilly. I didn’t really feel like running in the rain but I would have.

We fed, pooped and walked the dogs and headed down to Soulard in STL to begin my 12 mile run. This week is step back week on the long run.

I ran the back half of the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon STL route from Soulard to South City and back.

It was cloudy and cool and the rain was almost gone except for the occasional drop or two.

I even got brave and wore my Brooks Glycerin’s that I swore that I was going to sell. I put on good socks and carried another pair in case I needed to stop.

Yesterday, was the first day in forever that I did not feel pain in my lower body. The first in a long time! I even mentioned to Kevin how strong my legs felt. I didn’t do much yesterday after work except walk the dogs a couple of times.

I felt hopeful that maybe my training was making me stronger but I know how quickly that can go south and I will be an emotional wreck again! 🙂

I wasn’t bitchy or mean. I never got frustrated or worried that I wouldn’t finish the run.

I loved going through Anheuser Busch Brewery and smelling the hops and beer making smells! I always love running there.

Then the route headed toward South City and the sidewalks were like crap, pit bulls barking and some on the loose…scary. Broken glass and the streets are not cared for well. That’s a shame because the old brick buildings are beautiful!

Then I ran into Carondelet Park which is beautiful. My run today was supposed to be 12 miles but I ran 12.8 miles due to a miscalculation on my part…and a wrong turn.

My feet never hurt and my shoes felt good. My legs were strong. I enjoyed the run and loved the scenery…except for the loose pit bull that came close to me. He didn’t seem mean but curious. I ran a little faster! 🙂

Needless to say, this run was a confidence booster even though it was just 12.8 miles long. Especially in light of that 8 miles from hell that I ran on Wednesday.

I kept busy for the rest of the day. We went to the Soulard Market. We met my son, Daniel and Sadie for lunch at Chava’s Mexican Restaurant.

Kevin and I came home and walked the dogs a few times. Even though I wanted to rest, I couldn’t resist getting out in this weather.

James, Daniel and Sadie came over to visit for a while after Allison went to work. Daniel is spending the night and playing Playstation with Popeye (Kevin) as I blog. I love having him here as you all know who read my blog.

I have cold packs on my elevated knees blogging and watching Daniel play video games and feeling pretty good.

Next Saturday is 18 miles!!!!!!!!!!!

Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see – Jimmy Buffett