Going strong . . .

I went for a 5 1/2 mile run/walk yesterday and it went so well! I mean, don't get me wrong. It was tough. But I felt sooooo good afterward. I forgot how good I feel, both physically and emotionally, when I really run. I went farther than my typical 3 miles because we have a pedometer challenge at our school and I just wanted more steps. But I'm so glad I did.

I went on the River Walk for one main reason - once I go out, I have to come back. I went my 2 3/4 miles west and was totally pooped. But, there was only two ways to get back to the car. Run or walk. And running's faster. All in all, I ended up running about 3 1/2 miles and walking the rest, though there were breaks between and sometimes during those miles. But my fastest mile was just over 12 minutes. 1 min 45 sec shorter than two days earlier. I fell like it's coming back quickly, which gets me excited to go back out. Now just to figure out how to schedule in more runs between work and taking care of my two little monkeys.

Here are two pictures of my favorite part of the River Walk. It's between La Canada and La Cholla. Of all the desert plants, I admit that I love mesquite trees!