BREAKING 5

Our long run Saturdays have been set around the 4-5 mile mark for a while now (since May, when I started doing regular Saturday morning runs), but today we pushed a little further. Thunder and lightening to the north threatened to cancel our run, but by 6am we were in the clear. I had some time to warm up while I waited on Sophie (Mr. Leo demanded a last minute nursing session as she was trying to head out the door), so I did a little 0.6 mile loop to loosen up. Then we headed out for our planned 5 mile out-and-back route at the flats (not flat by any means, but the hills are smaller there than they are in the loops from the front gate). I felt good for the first half and we were really excited when we reached the Fort Hill overlook of the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers (see the dark storm clouds in the background?), but I definitely struggled on the way back and had to walk a short stretch. I'd taken the whole week off running in the hopes that my shin splints would heal, so I'm guessing I was a little out of practice (even though I did cross-training this week in place of the running). It didn't work. My shins still hurt. I had borrowed Jay's Garmin for the morning, so I knew my mileage came in at 5.9, which made me really happy (I hadn't run over 5 miles since the Run Through History back in March)! Sophie confirmed when she got home and mapped our route at 5.3 - go mamas go!

P.S. Don't mind my extreme sweat. Even though it was a "cool" morning with a nice breeze, it was still warm and super humid (re: nearby thunderstorms). I was twice that sweaty by the end of the run. Seriously. I even sweat from my knees. I like to imagine my sweat as calories dripping off my body... 15 pounds down! Almost halfway to my first weight loss goal!