A couple more 16 milers

A couple of weeks go by and so did a couple more 16 milers. Last weeks was supposed to be a 14 miler but we were both feeling so good after the first one and it was such a good route that we decided to just do 3 of them in a row. Last Saturday was absolutely perfect. Everything just seemed to work well and I was really feeling good. My piraformis has been bugging me a little but rolling it out and stretching has really helped it this week. I also rolled my IT bands for fun (ha!) and found that they were quite tender even though I haven't had any knee pain yet, so I've been rolling them a bit too before I get to that point.

Beautiful weather! It was almost too hot for the vest but it has so many good pockets that I needed it. And it warmed up and then cooled down so I was glad I had it. I kept taking my gloves off and then putting them back on. Today was a completely different story though. It was snowing and pretty cold.

But it is simply beautiful no matter the weather. I love running out away from the city and seeing all sorts of beauty. We saw some sandhill cranes take off in front of us last week and today we saw some gorgeous ducks circling around. I love running in the country!

I had issues with my camelbak again this week and need to get a new o-ring for the front seal. I took my husband's backpack kind again and it didn't work very well this time. I did a pretty hard upper body workout yesterday and knew I'd be sore, but the backpack just made it unbearable. I took it off less than 1/2 mile from home and felt like I'd lost a gagillion pounds. I can't do that again.

I also did 8 Yasso's this week. Eight miles of speedwork really takes it out of you! That was a challenge. Next week is 9. Yikes. What's worse is that I would rather do those than mile repeats. I hate those. I guess that's why they're so good for me.

One last thing... I've been really grateful all week for my legs. Even though they're bigger than I want them to be, I'm lucky to have them. I had forgotten about this until we were running last week and needed a distraction during a brutal 7 block uphill section coming back home. We were passing an intersection where I had been in a wreck about 15 years previous. As I began to tell her the details to distract us from the pain, I realized how lucky I really am. It was a really bad accident that totaled the car and yet none of us were seriously injured. It took the jaws of life to get me out and I got some good stitches on my head and glass dug out of my arms and face and legs, but other than that was o.k. When we went to look at the car afterwards, we couldn't see where my legs could have been. It was completely crushed. I didn't run back then, but I never could have started if I would have lost my legs. I have been pondering all this week how blessed I have been and how lucky I should feel to simply HAVE legs. No more fretting about how fat they are or how they're always injured. I just need to be grateful. And I am.