Chill in the air, smile on my face.

Today was my first long run since Oct 15th.  The official training schedule brings out out to heartbreak hill for the first time this season, but not for me.  PT has given me a strict order to stay off the hills until at least mid January, and I'm going to listen to EVERYTHING they say this time around.  So, rather than trucking out to Boston for a 10.5 miler I stayed in Uxbridge and ran from one end of town to the other (my house to my parents house).

It was a cold start, but the chill felt good.  It reminded me of training for this year's marathon and it immediately got the steady stream of thought flowing.  Before I knew it I was two miles into my run and I could feel a smirk come across my face.  I was in a good place.

Why the smirk?  Was it the 40 oz bottle of Budlight Lime I had just passed discarded on the side of the road?  Was it the fact that I was listening to back to back tracks off of some late 90's movie soundtrack?  Probably a little, but it was also because for the first time in a long time I visualized myself at the finish of my journey.  I was feeling good, enjoying some alone time and I could see myself in the best shape of my life finishing the 2012 Boston Marathon.

I think it's important to have these thoughts.  I think it's important to know that in my mind I can get to where I want to be.  If I have the self doubt from the start I'm only going to be running up hill, and as my physical therapist told me, that's not allowed!

And in case you're wondering I'm almost certain the tracks I was referring to came from the American Pie series, which is also making a comeback in 2012 with the American Reunion.  How can 2012 not be a good year with Michelle and Jim back together again, ha.