Summer Solstice

So today is the longest day of the year, a perfect day for a late evening run, which it will have to be since I slacked this morning in a big, bad way. I did a great job last week of getting my running done in the morning, which was mostly a necessity because of the hideous heat and humidity that has struck our area already.  Honestly, I know that I live in Texas, and I know that i't's hot as hell here, but usually, this kind of heat is reserved for late July and August, not early June. It makes me afraid for the rest of the summer.  Seriously. Oy.  That said, I re-discovered the joy of running in the early morning last week, and feeling like I had started out with a good strong accomplishment that could carry me through the rest of the day.

I am feeling pretty strong in my running the last few weeks, despite the fact that I am probably going slower than I have in the past overall. But that's a function of being less concerned with the speed with which I do the miles and more with just getting them done. I also have been doing a lot of "naked runs" in which I leave behind not only the Garmin and/or stopwatch, but also the iPod on occasion. I am really focusing on making each run as strong as possible and meeting the intent of each run - some days I just need to Run It Out and use it as a stress reliever, sometimes I want to do a little bit of speed play and do some intervals, and some days (my favorites lately) have been more social runs, where I meet up with my RLR friends and chat while we pound out the miles. Without a doubt, I am finding that having someone or multiple someones around to talk to makes those miles fly by, regardless of the pace, and I finish those runs feeling stronger physically and mentally recharged.  I'm sure it has something to do with working from home 100 percent, and having limited interaction with other humans (besides my kids - which don't get me wrong, I love that, but you know what I'm saying) during the workday. In any case, I am at a really happy place with my running right now.

I've got exactly two weeks until the official start of my New York City marathon training plan, and 10 days until the end of the Run Every Day in June streak is complete. I'm looking forward to both of those events, and I'm confident that the streak has met it's intention of getting me ready, physically and mentally,  for the rigors of marathon training in a hot Texas summer.  So, another few weeks to go, before we BRING IT!!