Early 8 miler and some spinning

I took a rest day yesterday. This morning I was still a little sore from my strength session, but I got up early and went for an 8 mile run anyway. I went at 6am with my head lamp and blinkie lights and my reflective vest. It was chilly but nice. I was definitely tight and a little uncomfortable in the first mile. My arms and chest are so sore. I didn't think it would bother me running, but it was awkward and took me a little longer than normal to get into a good rhythm. I finally got into a groove and felt good and the miles flew by. Before I knew it I was home and done.

I bumped into one of my neighbors and was able to thank them in person for the donaton they made. He asked me how my training was going and told me about some old friends that he knew that ran the marathon many years ago. It was great to hear his story. It's so great to talk to people and hear everyone's story about the marathon or family members impacted by cancer. It's made this whole experience so meaningful. I feel like I'm not just running for me, I'm running for everyone I've talked to and everyone that they have loved and lost to cancer.

After my run, I quickly changed into dry clothes and headed to spin class for some active recovery to stretch and sort of massage my muscles and prepare for my long run tomorrow. It was a really good class. I was dripping in sweat, even my socks were wet at the end. I wore my new Dana Farber Marathon Challenge shirt in class and handed out my cards at the end of class. I talked to two women afterwards that thanked me for running for such a great cause. I am honored to run and it seems a little backwards when people thank me for running. I am thankful to Dana Farber for picking me and allowing me to run for them. I am thaknful for all of the support and generous donations I get. I am thankful for my health and being physically able to run a marathon.

So, it was a great start to the weekend. Very inspiring and now I just hope that the snow doesn't stick tonight and my long run tomorrow is snow free. I really don't want to do 16 miles in the snow.