Gettin' my run on!

I am so pumped about tomorrow's run! I found an amazing new course that I'm dying to try...it's in a nature preserve right by my apartment complex. I've planned to complete 3 miles tomorrow but I think I'm going to make it a free spirit kind of run: just go until I feel like finishing. It will also be my first run with my Garmin, I am oh-so-pumped!!!! It feels so great to be motivated again and I know it's time that I will strive to reach new limits!

I'm currently reading "Chicken Soup for the Soul-Runners" ...AMAZING book! So inspiring. Here are my two favorite quotes from today's reading:

"Find your edge, then take one step beyond it." ~Dean Karnazes

This is so true. I remember when I first decided to train for a half-marathon...I just made up my mind. I knew it would be hard, but I also knew I could do it. Once I completed my first 11 miles, I knew I could do 13. It's truly amazing what you can do when you are determined...

"I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible." ~John Hanc

I love this quote. He's right, it's so much more. The hard work along the way means so much more. And when it all comes down to one moment...when you think you cannot go on another second, until you see THE finish line, and all the sudden you can conquer the world...no words for that kind of feeling. The accomplishment, the success...nothing can touch you when you are in that state of mind. The strength developed during this proccess has changed my life.

I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around 26 miles just yet, but I'm slowly getting there. I saw the course for the 26.2 miles for the White Rock Marathon I will be running in December. I freaked. The map is freakin' huge because it covers so much distance. AND...it has allllll this mileage, and then off to the side is a little White Rock Lake, which we run around completely. That lake is HUGE and 9 freakin' miles long and it's a very small part of the course!! That's when it really hit home. This challenge is a beast. But I've learned-the harder you work, the better the high when you finish...and I cannot even imagine how amazing that finish is going to be. 3 more months-let's see what I can do!