July

"Can we sleep in tomorrow?", Boyfriend asks me. We are driving up the New Jersey Turnpike on our way to New England to spend the holiday weekend with my family.
"Of course," I answer, a confused look across my face. "Why on earth would we be getting up early?" By now it is after 8pm and we still have about four hours of driving before we can sleep.
"I didn't know if you wanted to run."
"Ha ha ha" I laugh. I can't help it. It's Wednesday, only three days have passed since Boston and my half marathon.
"Honey," I say, turning to him for a brief second and then my eyes go back to the road. "The next few weeks may be my last chance to sleep in for the rest of year! I am NOT waking up early tomorrow."

When I tell my mom this the next morning she says "But you're still going to run right?" Well of course. I can't go more than three days with out working out. Of course I will run. I just won't be getting up early, I won't be running for time, with my watch, or any of the other things required when training for a race. I will run on my terms and on my time.

It was nearly 3:30 in the afternoon before we headed out for a run. There were four of us, Mom, Boyfriend, Littlest sister, and me. We are all in a line, like a family of ducks, I am at the front and Mom at the back. It was almost like we made our own little running club. It must have been quite the sight to see if you were driving by.

I coulnd't help but be amazed at the fact that I felt great. Didn't I just run a half marathon on Sunday? I did. It was amazing. And I am not even skipping a beat getting back into it. The hills I used to look at with fear, not laid out in from of me as gental rolling terrain. The more days that pass since the race, the better I feel about it. The better I feel about the shape I am in. For the next few weeks I plan on enjoying not being tied to a schedual. When I want to run I will run, if I don't want to run I won't.

The best part? It's summer. And what I realy want to do is go to the beach. So I think today, I'll do that instead.

xx Sara