To those of you who read my last post…. THANK YOU! To those of you who commented, you reminded me why I started blogging in the first place-THANK YOU for your beautiful, honest, & thoughtful comments.

How was your weekend??  Mine was great & packed full of training.  Friday evening I went to a restorative yoga class and have never felt so relaxed in my life. It was incredible.  We were given hot stones to hold/ place on our body during the class and received several mini head/neck/shoulder messages. A magical thing happens when your yoga teacher is also a massage therapist.

Fast forward to Saturday morning and you would find me nervously preparing for my long run.  I had a small breakfast, stalled, stretched, packed these babies in my short pockets, and then I was off.

Sometimes you have those runs where everything sucks. Your legs hurt, the sunscreen you used is mixing with sweat and burning your eyes, your stomach is feeling questionable, your mind doubts you with each step you take, and the best part of the run is when it’s done.

I have had plenty of those days.

Saturday’s run was the exact opposite experience. There were moments of total bliss. There were moments of clarity and self-confidence. There were moments of “I can do this forever” and “look at that beautiful the sky”.  Around mile 11,  I started to think of someone in my life that I thought needed a little love, and I dedicated that mile to them.  I did this for the next few miles and before I knew it, I was at mile 16 with only one more to go.  I think I read about this “dedicate your miles thing” in the Runner’s World Mag a little while back.  If you have never tried it, I highly recommend it.

Of course, when I finished the 17 miles I immediately thought about all of the things that led up to the run in hopes that there was some magic ritual that I could recreate before every long run.  Was is the yoga?  Was it that Thai food I ate Friday night?  Was it the cranberry & margarita shot blocks?  Did I get the perfect amount of sleep?

What I have come to accept is that running is a lot like life.  Some days, things just work.  Some days, things just suck.  No matter what happens, the important thing is that you show up each and everyday (or for each and every run).

My newest post long-run tradition? Taking a cool down walk to the nearest Starbucks where I order an unsweetened green iced tea and “the largest glass of ice water you have”.

After my run, Lali and I headed to the 5th Annual SF Street Food Festival.  The best part about this festival (besides the fact that it is all about food) is that it is literally begins outside my front door.  The highlights: chili verde french fries & a dark chocolate mustache for dessert.

Sunday, I headed to …yes you guessed it… ATHLETA!  I got my butt seriously kicked at a boot camp class.  I’d say the weekend was a huge training success.

Later I took a walk with these two 😉

To round out the weekend I finally tried a recipe for protein brownies.  They turned out really good!  (Recipe coming soon!)

What is the best thing you ate over the weekend?

What are three goals you have for the week?

XO,

CS