I think I fell in love today...

Last night, I started thinking about this "guy." I thought, "Hey, I haven't seen him in awhile, I should go see him tomorrow morning."

I was a little apprehensive about it though--for many reasons. This "guy" is no stranger to me. I grew up around his neighborhood and hung out there a lot as I was growing up. When I was younger, I was often with my mom. But as a teenager, I was around him a lot more. I guess you could say we grew up together--but even back then, he was pretty mature. He's the kind of guy you want to get to know if you don't already know him. But he's also the kind of guy that's very hard to get to know. He's popular, he's nice to look at, and all those years when I was hanging out around him, I saw him but I rarely tried to get to know him intimately. It wasn't a big deal to me then, as I had other interests.

I've heard a lot about him lately--he's one of the most popular men in Louisville. He's in a great neighborhood, and did I mention he's beautiful? He's also full of athleticism. I don't remember him at all, either, as it's been about 10 years since I saw him last. That's why I was a little apprehensive to go see him today.

Well, as soon as I got there, I remembered why I liked him so many years ago. Though he was a little cold at first, I knew he'd warm up after I was there for awhile. I worked on getting to know him more intimately--it's a difficult thing to do, you see. He's complex. You think you might be able to go one way with him, and all the while, you're going in a different direction. You have to move carefully with him.

He treated me well today and made me feel welcome and comfortable. There were lots of other people there to see him and they too were welcoming and friendly. I felt at home. I fell in love with him today and I can't wait until I can see him again. I actually hope I can get my friends to meet me for a group run there to see him and to get to know him more intimately as well.

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Those of you from Louisville will know that Cherokee Park is a BEAUTIFUL place, but you will also know that it's pretty difficult to navigate if you aren't familiar with driving or walking/running it. It's confusing as hell. But that's where I did my long run this morning. It was great.

I unintentionally PR'd on distance, as well! Before I left the house, I printed out a copy of a 9.5 mile route so that I wouldn't get lost. I cut the first 1/2 mile off so that I would just do 9 miles, as that was my scheduled distance for today. It was a confusing run, just because I didn't know quite where I was at any given point--not at ALL familiar with Cherokee, just with Seneca Park. So after I exited Seneca, I was pretty much running blind. I saw Scenic Loop and decided to take it, as so many other runners were there as well. After completing it once, I realized I had NOT gone the way directed by my planned route (which I never once looked at when I got out there, it's not like it would have helped me. If you've ever been to Cherokee, you'd understand why. I'm sure it gets easier once you've been there once or twice!) and figured that I was probably shorting myself on distance (I could also tell by the time) and I decided to complete the scenic loop a second time to get in the extra 2.4 miles so that I would *hopefully* get to 9 by the time I reached my car back at Seneca Park.

Great people out there, talkative and friendly. Decent hills--nothing horrible but noticeable enough to cause you to do some extra work. I liked it. Going around the loop a second time, my mom passed me in the car! We looked at each other in awe! She (I eventually discovered) drove over to Seneca Park and parked right behind me--she did her workout there until I was done with mine.

After doing Scenic Loop twice, I decided I should head on back to the car. That second loop really tired me out but I pressed on and felt like I kept a decent pace considering how my legs were feeling and my feet were sore. I ran back toward Seneca Park without getting lost and decided to take the shorter way back (as opposed to doing a true out and back) and I just couldn't take it anymore. I got to the I-64 overpass and my legs just wouldn't let me go any longer. I had been fighting them for about 1 mile and I just couldn't fight anymore. I ended up walking back to the car with ULTRA SORE LEGS AND FEET.

Now I know why I was so sore--I did 10 miles on accident! DISTANCE PR! I completed the 10.07 miles in 1:56:03, which averages 11:32 min/mile! That's a GREAT pace for ME! I'm so proud.

I'm also VERY sore...my back hurts and my legs are asking why I did this! LOL I'm so happy right now!