Last long run...

yes, I really do have tiny feet!

Next Sunday is my half marathon in Portland!  I had 10 miles to do and I was determined to get them done at some point this weekend.

Friday night looked like this with an interesting grocery cart assortment.  I was just excited that the grocery store has Cliff Shots!

I woke up Saturday morning and my right knee {my better bad knee} was aching badly.  I learned my lesson running with Motrin in my stomach a few weeks ago so rather than subject my knee to 10 miles, I opted for the elliptical which was still a good workout.

So that left Sunday, Mother's Day, to get my 10 miles done.  It was a little tough getting up early on a weekend day but it was nice to be back home before Chaney even woke up and of course the feeling of accomplishment so early in the day was nice too. :)  I took some Motrin the night before, drank a lot of water and set my alarm.  I was out the door by 6:40 am.  I didn't eat; I just had Cliff Shot and a glass of water before I left.  I'm really starting to think I run best on a pretty much empty stomach.

I've mentioned before that we live in a great neighborhood for running.  I headed to the trail first because it's my favorite.  A .25 mile from where the trail ends are the hills.  Big hills.  I decided that I would tackle the hills and then make a loop back to the trail as my reward for making it through the hills.  That loop is almost 5 miles which works out perfectly for 10 miles.

I'm always tempted to run on the cart paths but I always resist...

I carried my Nathan water bottle {which I love, BTW} and one more Cliff Shot.  It's only a 10 oz bottle but one of the bonuses for running around a golf course are the ice cold coolers at each hole.  I'm sure the golfers didn't mind me re-filling once.

The other bonus... the bathrooms on the golf course. :)

I didn't see many people out running which was a little unusual.  I did see a few people walking their dogs who had no intention of poop scooping until the saw me coming.  Not. Cool. 

And a first, I got nipped at by a dog.  A lady was walking two small dogs on long retractable leashes.  I moved into the grass because she wasn't reeling them in.  As I ran by one of them lunged and had I not picked up my heel high and to the side, it would have gotten me.  I love dogs and I'm not scared of them.  But if there are any that I'm leery of, it's small dogs because I'm pretty sure I've read that they are the most likely to bite. 

This was one of my best runs yet which leaves me feeling pretty good about the half next weekend.  I'm still nervous and even dreamed about it all night but I guess that's pretty normal.

And because it was Mother's Day, I came home to an omelet bar, fresh fruit, hashbrowns and mimosas.  We had my husband's family over for brunch and it was wonderful.  Steve is a great cook... I would run 10 miles every Sunday to come home to that but he already told me not to get spoiled!

I hope all you moms had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I know I did. :)