Five

I meant to get out over the weekend for a long run, but a few too many fun things got in the way. That makes me sound like I have zero dedication to my running, but I made sure to get out on Monday evening. I was planning a 5 mile run after work. Not knowing this, my husband asked early in the day if I wanted to go on a family run after work. I told him I'd be running 5 and he and our little guy could join me if they so desired. He said that he'd do 3 with me, which is fine because 6'5" guys aren't your typical long distance runners. Is 5 miles even considered long distance? If you want to know my opinion, the answer is yes.

Summer already seems long gone and fall has definitely made an entrance. It's been cool and a bit rainy, but yesterday afternoon was just beautiful. I had to take the opportunity to run outdoors while I can (I do not run in the cold if I can help it). My boy was excited to go running as usual. As soon as we set out on a course near our house that I had mapped on MapMyRun.com, he knew we'd pass by the bulldozers working on building the next step up neighborhood. He was beside himself with excitement. I love that my boy is filled with so much joy. You can see it in every ounce of his body and being.

Mile 1: Great start. My husband and I are talking. We get to the bulldozers and our boy is in awe. The bulldozers are still out working and making all sorts of noises that two year olds adore. We slowed down a bit so that our boy could take it all in, but continued on our route.

Mile 2: Our boy is begging to go back and see the bulldozers. An almost two year old begging? Seems weird, right? Mmm hmmm. No. Not weird. He continues to beg the entire second mile. We ran up a giant hill and a semi truck and UPS truck passed us, which helped distract him for a while. At the top of the hill, I wanted so desperately bad to stop and catch my breath, but my husband told me to keep going. I did. It was really, really hard.

Mile 3: We were on a straight road. No elevation change. No curves. It was a long road. It never seemed to end. My husband and son started on their way back on a different path. And yes, this path would take them back to the bulldozers (where they happened to stay and watch them work for a good 15 minutes). Our boy's lucky day!

Mile 4: I was on my own. I stopped to walk for a minute and put my ear buds in. Pandora played some great Mumford & Sons-like music. I looped through a neighborhood near our house. A whole bunch of people were out walking their dogs and I nodded and smiled as I ran by them. One guy was out walking a Westie and I could've sworn it was Anthony Bourdain. Tall, slender, grayish hair, black jacket. Looked a bit like he might have an attitude. I passed him a second time and wondered if his camera crew was out hiding somewhere and I was going to be on his show! But then I remembered I was running and really didn't want to appear on TV in this sweaty state. My mind wanders as I run and sometimes this works in my favor. Unfortunately, after I realized I wasn't being taped for No Reservations, I noticed that I had a horrible side cramp. I walked for about 5 minutes to help it go away, which made me feel a little lazy, but it felt like a good decision at the time.

Taking a breather around mile 4.5

Mile 5: The majority of mile 5 was a series of little rolling hills. Up and down. Up and down. I ran this entire last mile and I think I ran it with a bit more pep in my stride than the fourth. I could sense that the end was near. I just had to get to the stop light up ahead and be done with it.

Annnnd, done. Whew. I walked about a quarter of a mile home. I caught my breath and enjoyed a few minutes of alone time. When I turned onto our street and walked up our driveway, my son, who was playing outside with my husband, shouted, "Bullsosers!!! I saw bullsosers, mommy!"  Joy.