11 days, 11 miles....

on sunday i went on my longest solo run ever - 11 miles. this was a big milestone for me. mostly because i specifically remember one day when i first met josh and he was training for the philadelphia half marathon. he went on an 11 mile run and i remember thinking he was crazy! but i also remember thinking that i really wished i could do that. you know, go out and run 11 miles without dying. at that time, i wished i could even do just half of that.

i also remember another day that he ran 11 miles... and i could barely walk/run 4. i remember on that day thinking that i wished i could BE A RUNNER but i wasn't sure if i could actually do it. finishing those 4.1 miles or whatever it was, wasn't easy {actually, it was DANG HARD and i didn't even run it all!} and i remember thinking that if i even did try to start running, i would probably give up because it would be too hard. i can't believe how far i've come since then! not that the 11 miles on sunday was easy.. i'm still sore today! but it was fun and i did it and that's what matters! {thanks for the water-stop, mom, and josh for meeting me along my run to give me some hydration! i have the best boyfriend ever!}

it's also weird to me that people now consider me "a runner." i mean, i run, yeah. i know that... but i don't know. it's just weird for me. i guess because it's something i never thought i could do so it's still weird to me that i can now actually do it and people notice. people at alyssa's wedding would come up to me and say, "so you're the runner, huh?" and i'm like who me? oh yeah, i guess so. i know, i know... that's weird.

it's also weird to me that people ask me for running advice because i still feel like i know pretty much nothing about it. scratch that, i guess i just feel like i'm not the BEST person to ask because i still have so much to learn myself. but on that same note, it makes me feel good knowing that something i've worked so hard to do and that has changed my life so much can inspire other people to do it too. i'm working on a post about how to start running since i've had several people ask me about that lately. hopefully i will be able to finish that up soon.. right after my 198374 exams, presentations, & take-home tests... PLUS FINALS are done!

these are the things i think about on my 11 mile run all by myself. it gives me TONS of time to think! ha!

i can't believe that my little countdown on the side is down to 11 days! 11 days until my first half marathon!!!!!! i can't wait! {i can totally wait for everything i have to get done in between now and then though!}

"If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it."

-Priscilla Welch

*P.S. picture above is of a little birdie's nest that i found in the upstairs window ledge on sunday :)