The Running Thing...

I am in the "tapering down" portion of my training for the 25K on May 9th. I feel, for the most part, about the same as last year. Mostly good runs under my belt....some awesome ones...one terrible, terrible one....and overall, pretty well trained.
Now is not the time to think about that big event on October 11th, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.
But I can't HELP it.
With every "long run" I conquer, I am thinking to myself, "and that will only be HALFWAY?" or "those 12 miles will be NOTHING to me come September?"
I am not going to lie...I am officially intimidated. But, still excited. Mostly excited and up for the challenge.

What has running given me the last four months?
1. Much needed silence.
2. Long chats "working it all out" with my good running buddy.
3. A white kitty to pet on the same street each Saturday. I like to believe she waits for me.
4. Those dang five pounds from the winter gone.
5. Time to just think. I find myself decompressing the first two miles...then getting into a groove of thinking outside the box...before the final mile, when I start thinking about what I have to do upon my reentry into real world again.
6. Catch up time with friends on the treadmill while the kids flail, laugh and wave at us from below. Sometimes it's the only uninterrupted time any of us have to talk on a given day!
7. Sore hip that comes and goes sporadically...random sore foot...sore legs every Saturday and Sunday.
8. A nice excuse to eat ridiculous sometimes and not worry about it.

But still keepin' on...making it happen...