Week 6.....

Ahhhh!  What a week....it was one of those weeks that exhausts and motivates.  Ella and Kris were both sick- Ella recovered quickly, and we are still working on Kris.  That clostridium difficile is some nasty stuff- he lost 9 pounds in 4 days (of which he didn't have to lose) and was quarantined to special parts of the house- we are letting him out and about again and he even ventured our for a quick, easy run today.  Kris doesn't usually get sick (at least not like that and for that long) so we all got a little stir crazy and exhausted! 

So, even though I felt more worn down this week, I also felt thankful and motivated.  I knew that Kris would have LOVED to get up for a 5 AM run (outside as opposed to where he was running)...and thus I cherished my physical and mental abilities to move forward in this journey.  And I let those positive feelings thrust me out of bed with minimal griping (at least for this week!)....and I didn't even have to repeat my mantra......this week :) 
The highlight of the week- the lady at Chic-fil-a on campus asked me how many exams I had left to take!  I said, well thank you very much, but I am actually on faculty- and she couldn't believe it.  I almost jumped the counter and hugged her, but I decided that may scare her....so I just said thank you and told her she made my day!  We also celebrated Holly's birthday with a girl's night in- and it was fabulous! 
The pictures for the 1 mile Fun Run were posted, and just clicking on the link brought a smile to my face.  There were tons of pictures with little kids and parents running the race on Thanksgiving morning.  I sent the link to Kris and said that it just was not possible to open without smiling!  He, too, said he had already smiled that morning! 

Ella at the 1 mile Fun Run- the Kick at the Finish!...Please note, picture taken by Carolina Snapshot during the race.  And yes, I did actually purchase this same picture, and am waiting its arrival :)

The runs this week went great....I even convinced Tracey to run hills with me on Thursday.....she was my definite motivator as we climbed that hill over and over :)

And then there was the Umstead REUNION....
Wow, has it been a long time since Steph, KO, and I ran together for a long run!  It was one of the reasons that we all grew to love long distance running- our Saturday morning runs.  We met at Umstead and decided to run Turkey Creek (obviously, we did not warn Steph ahead of time....go for the path of least resistance).  It was so nice to run and chat and run and laugh for 15 miles....and even though we were climbing hill after hill, we all kept moving forward and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.  There were times that we could barely run because we were laughing so hard- it was fabulous.  Another great run with more great friends.  I have so enjoyed all the friendships that have developed while running- and I can only hope for many more runs with many great friends!

Steph, Val, and KO after our 15 mile Turkey Creek Run!

Ran about 38 miles this week and now the countdown to the Frosty 50k is on......my first ultra ever (well, technically I always seem to run longer than 26.2 during any given marathon- according to Kris this is due to my course management skills!)!!!!  but this will actually be my first ultra- Steph is doing it as well- so it should be a fun time for all.  KO even mentioned she may just sign up and see what happens- she is in a non-training mode at the moment- and loving every minute of it!

Here is to another wonderful training week and hoping for just as wonderful of one next week!