Our Life: Running with a Motivational Limp

I ran so hard- this picture is just before the finish line and yeah, I'm smiling...(insert sigh here) Country Music City Half Marathon 2009. I had trained so good for it... granted some of that training was my coping with the death of my grandmother, Gran, in January 2009. But I remember being so ready for the race by the end of March 2009..

So, it's 2011 and I am just not feeling very ready. I started training in December, and was doing really good during the cold weather but then came the rain... and I just have gotten spoiled having the Greenline so close that I just do not want to run on a treadmill! Call me crazy- and, I think that the treadmill did my knees in..notice the knee brace in the picture above... since running on the Greenline and through the neighborhood, I've definately noticed less pain in my knee- or is because I'm not training hard enough??

All that to say, I've been running, utilizing my apps on my ipod to help with timing and interval running. But I was not getting to that "high" point in the run... for all you runners out there, you know what I'm talking about! But today.. finally!!! Me, my ipod in one hand, my inhaler in the other (thank-you-very-much-adult-onset-asthma) we hit the high!! It was so nice... probably helps that it was sunny and bright and just generally a happy kind of day. But there is something to be said for running with the sun beating down on you, heating your face, feeling the sweat on your forehead (sweat = productivity) and getting your breathing rhythm down right... felt good. Although I run good in the cold, and I may try my hand at the St. Jude half in December... there is just something in me that loves the heat.

I'm just hoping this good run day is the start of some more..because it has just been a downer feeling like I'm not ready for the race. Plus, the hills!! If anyone reading this has actually participated in the Nashville half, they can tell you about the hills... they are a nightmare. But thanks to Shelby Farms, there are some hills to train on. I actually have been trying to talk Trey into dropping me off at Shelby Farms and making me run home via Greenline.. He's not completely sold on that idea though! But he is going to get the bike greased up and more air in the tires and ride with me- that's always good motivation!!

I just want to finish another half. I am not so concerned about my time- probably because I've lived my life as an average kind of athletic girl, and it's a nice place to be... no at the top, close to but not at the bottom.. just average. Definately never got the blue ribbon for the Presidential Fitness Test back in the day. But I just want to finish... any tips out there for motivation? Any great routes in the Memphis/Shelby County area? Any good running songs?? (I'm a fan of Enrique's "I like it"- good beat)