Happy Monday! I just got back from a week of vacation and so rolling out of bed this morning was not easy. I had a wonderfully relaxing time. Sleeping, eating, floating on the lake, waterskiing, playing with my niece and nephew, having good conversations with family, meeting new people, time with my hubby, and getting upgraded to First Class on my flight home. All good. All fun. All on vacation. One of the things I loved were my runs while away. I have been thinking about running a 1/2 marathon. Currently I am running 6-8 miles a day. On the treadmill. While reading. It makes me a bit apprehensive when I have no choice but to run outside. What will it be like? Will I be able to handle just listening to music, and not reading while I run? I was happily surprised this time. I never stopped. I never got tired. I ran mostly 7 miles a day, with hills, 90 degree temperatures plus humidity.

view from my run

view from run #2

What made me do it? My Nike+ app. The Nike+ app lets you listen to music while running, tracks your run, and talks to you when you hit each mile marker. I know. I know. It is a simple thing an app can do. I just have never used it. It changed my run. The app told me how fast I was going and how far I had gone and knowing that pushed me to run harder and faster. Last summer without the app, I found I would randomly walk, or feel tired. This time having the ability to compete against myself meant I ran better. Thank you, Nike.

baby turtle run day 1

medium-sized turtle day #6

These are the turtles I found in the middle of the road during my run. On my second loop they were not to be found and no smooshed turtle either, so they had crossed the road unharmed. So grateful for my runs, my view, my music, and my Nike+ app!

Have a great week!