Angel

This song got me through 2 steep hills today. Pay attention to the beat not the sexy video. My feet couldn't help but keep moving. I felt like a marionette puppet with someone else controlling my legs. Loved it!! This will be my official "Veyo Hill" song in the St. George Marathon. I might have to play it a few times to get up that hill though.

The rest of the 9 miles was, of course, filled with ups and downs. To start off, my body is slowly feeling the effects of all the training (and I'm just starting out). I was naive enough to welcome in spring with wearing cute shoes all week to work. Well, those cute shoes ended up hurting my plantar fasciitis (foot pain). My body was not at 100% this morning, but training must go on. The first half is all up hill, which means slow and boring. Thanks to NPR "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" episodes to get me through that part. Slow and steady.
At the beginning of mile 5 is the hill by Butterfield Park. I don't like it but know that after that it's mostly downhill the rest of the way. That's when I kicked off the talk radio and played the above song. "Angel" by Akon. Love it! The song not the hill. After that I refilled my water bottles at the park. Note: the water fountains don't work. I never thought I'd be one to enjoy drinking water from a public restroom sink. Amazing what you will do when you're hot, thirsty, and tired. At this point I also realized that running in 55' degree weather is a little hot. Making me question why am I running the STG marathon where I'll be lucky if it's 55' degrees when we start? Around mile 7, it hit me that yes, I am training for a marathon. A MARATHON! Crazy!!! A few more things I realized are, that Wendy's greasy french fries don't smell good when you've been running for an hour. And that I'm glad I don't have a diesel vehicle. That stuff is $3.99 a gallon. All kinds of thoughts go through my head as I pass landmarks in town.
The last mile, although downhill, was the worst. My right leg was hurting, my hip and knee. My poor body and what I put it through. I just wanted to be done. This was a very slow mile. Once again, very happy to see the Maverick signalling that I AM DONE!!!!
Recovery takes just as long as the run. Stretching, icing, eating, and then some. My legs are very happy now in compression pants and socks. They get the blood flowing helping the muscles feel better. This is going to be a fun, long summer. Can't wait to see what my body can handle. I get to bring it back down to just 5 miles next weekend. Yay.