Yes, It is Certainly Monday...

...thank goodness it is only Monday for a few more hours.

This AM I hit snooze when my alarm went off at 5:30 AM. No biggie. I had a plan. Snooze for one round and get up on the next pass, in 10 minutes. Plus Sarah was supposed to send me a Go Run or Else text...fail proof. Except she must have slept in or something because she didn't text me. Sure enough, at 5:40 AM my alarm went off again. I hit snooze and The Hubs mumbled something to the effect of, "Aren't you gonna get up to run?" Uh....yes. I flung the covers off and stumbled to my dresser. I was dressed and out the door by 5:53. No contacts in my eyes, blind as a half-blind bat, nothing in my stomach, no iPod. Dang it, I forgot my iPod. I didn't really have time to go back in for it. I only had 30 minutes for my run since The Hubs had to leave by 6:30. I also realized about 1.5 miles into my run that I should probably have returned the favor and texted Sarah a Get Up and Go Run text. FAIL. EPIC FAIL.

The sun was rising, at least I could see the beautiful colors of the sunrise. Lots of orange and pink....That is one thing I had forgotten about NC, the beautiful sunsets and sunrises. The colors are just so vibrant and beautiful. I didn't really mind running without music. It was quiet and calm outside. It was almost, almost chilly. It got me to thinking about fall. I love summer, it is my favorite season. I know I gripe and complain A LOT about summer heat and humidity but really I LOVE summer. Life just seems right in the summer. But nonetheless the chillness in the air had me thinking about fall, pumpkins, dark mornings, tights and long sleeve shirts. This led further to my thoughts of my fall marathon, OBX. Am I ready for a fall marathon? No. Can I get ready? I think so...I hope so! I better because I am doing one dad-gum-it. What will my new co-workers think of all this? I have no idea. Will I even tell them? To be decided....

Speaking of co-workers, how many of you share your blog and running with those you work with? I think I will, eventually. Maybe. Not many of them are, er....like me. For lack of better terms. They aren't fitness-minded really. There is one girl who spoke to me about going to the gym and wanting to gain weight. What would that be like? I talked with her about weight-training and working out. I briefly mentioned that I like to run and she said she wasn't a fan but ran in high school. No biggie but at least I can talk fitness with her. I wish I could start a trend in the office, and I might. It just might take some time for me to get settled in my job before I start making waves about getting fit and healthy.

All this I thought about while on my three mile run. In my last half mile a random dog came out and chased me down. He was circling me and barking. Uh, seriously. Get your dog. I yelled at him, "GO HOME!" about three times and he decided that he wanted to taste the heel of my Saucony before heading home...I wasn't really worried but I did think, "Great, I'll have to tell my boss about my running when I call and tell her I got bit by a stupid dog while on my morning run at 6 AM. The cat will be outa' the bag then..." Luckily the dog missed my skin and must have gotten scared when I said something like "STUPID DOG I WILL BEAT YOU!" and went home.

I made it home at 6:27 AM and was greeted at the door by The Hubs with a nice, cold recovery drink and scrambled eggs. Um....mmmm.....yummy combo?

And still blind, I decided to update my Dailymile. This is what happens when you try to do things, at 6:30 in the morning, when you are blind: Yes, I swam 3 yards in 89 minutes for my AM run....

And in case you need to see the pace for my amazing run....here it is: It says, 52516:26 pace. I'm awesomesauce.

And yes, Chelsea, I would LOVE a slimy new trining partner....thankyouverymuch!

Thanks to all of you who have offered advice and tips on the Run Less, Run Faster plan! I really, really appreciate it! Michelle will be sending me her copy of the book (THANKS A JILLION!!). I'm pretty stoked to look it over. I'll be working with the plan and seeing if it will work for me. I also just got the other book I was waiting on. I look forward to looking at and comparing the two plans. I do think I will use both, one for my fall marathon (OBX) and one for my Spring marathon (...already registered!!! To Be Announced Soon). The idea of using different plans is really appealing to me right now. I would like to broaden my experience a little bit, especially since I will be taking the RRCA Coaching Certification class in the fall. I want to be able to offer future coach-ees a breadth of knowledge, plans and experience. How can I create and implement plans that I, myself, have not tried?

Awesome things are happening here at 5 Miles!! And all because I got up on the right side of the bed for my early AM run.....And let's do it all over again tomorrow!