"Oh what a wonderful morning."

Or was it "Oh what a beautiful morning?"
Oh ... whatever.

I woke up this a.m., itching to run outside.  I have been running on the 'mill for the past week and I longed to be outside. So, I jumped out of bed and got ready.  Since I didn't exactly ate enough last night, I ate a Powerbar at the dining table before I headed out. 

Then, I drove my car to the curve down the driveway so Buttercup won't follow me. I like this dog, but. I also really need time to myself and not worry or bothered by people, things, or animals around me. I just want to be responsible for myself and my actions. Here's a shot of me, just before I started pounding the gravel path. I forgot to freeze some water last night in my bottle, so I dumped a bunch of ice in the bottle instead.

And so I ran and I ran. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining, but it wasn't blazing. The air was crisp, the breeze was cool, birds were chirping, leaves on the trees were rustling, and I smelled a heady scent of honeysuckle as I ran. How great can this get? I ran and delivered a kiss at Keith's office and turned back. I had planned to just do a 3-miler but a fast 3-miler today, but I ended up doing 6 because I didn't want the "pretty" to end. I want to embrace what's left of the cool crisp mornings Southeast Arkansas is blessed with before we get a heat wave! Anyhow, this is me, six miles later, feeling happy.

Here are my splits and I finally have a pretty successful negative splits:
11:4511:30
11:34
11:27
11:14
10:47
Total: 6 miles in 1:08.20 at 11:23/mile pace.
May Done and Did = 17 miles
May To Go = 33 miles.


On another note, Running Diva Mom is hosting a Virtual Race for New and Seasoned Runners. Donate $1, run, and win some cool prizes. I ran my first virtual race in April and I had so much fun. A race is a race, no matter where I run it. So for those of you who needed a reason to get off the couch and do something, do this.
And for the seasoned runners, challenge yourself and take your legs out on a joy ride!