Someone must have lit a fire under my bum this morning...

Because I ran and I ran the fastest I've run in a LONG time! I think I had some pent up energy just waiting to get out. We did 4.6 miles in 50 minutes. HOLY CRAP. The last time I did the double loop around that lake I did it in 56.5 minutes.

I'm totally riding the high off this run!

Pictured above: one of my photos from before our run

I can't help being in awe of so much this morning. My running buddy Amber has come so far in her running and in the 8 weeks we've been running together I've seen her go from being psyched to run 10 minutes to being able to keep up with me on a 4.6 mile run! I remember not so long ago I was in a similar boat and it's exciting when I see the changes both in myself and in her too!  When we run we discuss our milestones and it just motivates me so much to keep it up.

This morning, we were texting back and forth deciding whether or not to run. The reasons not to were stacking up:  less than 4 hours of sleep, drinking last night, the heavy amount of dancing I did last night.... We decided to just do it and be happy that we at least attempted. Little did either of us realize both of us were waiting for the other to call it off! HA!

I arrived slightly earlier than she did and had brought my camera along to grab some photos. It was one of those quintessential fall mornings, fog burning off the marshes as the sun rises higher in the sky, cool crisp air, clear skies. Crunching leaves below your feet. A couple more of my photos for your enjoyment:

I couldn't help but think to myself that I would have missed all of this if I hadn't gotten up, forced myself to put on my big girl pants and just do it! While waiting for Amber, I still didn't know how our run would go. We started on the 2.3 mile loop around the lake and it felt great. About 1/2 way around I realized we were running faster than normal and it still felt good.  A 2nd loop around gave us the 4.6 miles we were hoping to complete.

Even as I sit here, 3 hours post run typing this, I'm exhilarated and just thankful. Thankful for running. Thankful for finding people who share my excitement and desire to push ourselves. Thankful for great MN fall mornings... and just thankful in general.