Good break!

Like Christie said- we kinda went on hiatus. We both had so much going on this weekend, and all those things were more important than running.
On Friday I had an awesome birth. I knew it was going to mess with my training, but boy was it worth it. Getting to experience birth, for me, is getting to see God in a way I never have before. It touches my heart, reminds me of Grace, Strength, and the Holy Spirit. I remember at one point watching this exhausted mommy while I told her, "Just a little longer!! You're almost there, and I know you can do it!" (Just typing it now brings tears to my eyes.) And I thought, when I get to this point in the marathon where I don't think I can do it a second longer, where I'm certain the end will never come, and I was crazy to even try this- I'm going to remember that mommy. The look in her eyes when she would say in a quiet whisper, "I can do this." And I'm going to practice what I preach, dig deep, and find the strength. Because if I believe it of her, I have to believe it of me.
After the birth we went up to the lake to celebrate our anniversary :)
We had an amazing weekend full of sun, a wonderful surprise, and huckleberry mojitos (I don't know what it is with me and Huckleberry mixed drinks!!)
Soo... come this morning when my alarm went off and I felt like sleeping in I knew after taking the weekend off- it was make it or break it time!
Started out and it was surprisingly cool outside! My 4 mile loop is an easy run one way, and a hard run the other. Guess which way I almost always go. Imagine my delight when I realize that I'd been daydreaming and was going (gasp!) the hard way. My legs felt really fresh though, and I was maintaining a solid 9:40ish pace. Which is pretty good for me. I tried to keep only fast songs on the shuffle. Pat ran with my shuffle this weekend and couldn't believe how slow all my songs were. He thought that may have something to do with my pace issues (p.c. for "slow"). I think he was right! (Damn!) It was a beautiful run, killed the massive hill, only beat my dog twice when he cut me off because a few of the 2 million Quail up where we live may have been in the bush next to me.
Felt great to finish strong and according to Daily Mile it was my fastest run EVER! Woot woot!
So, the weekend off was worth it. Got to see what perseverance looks like first hand, saw another chapter open for someone I love, and celebrated 6 years of ups, downs and marathon training with my husband :)