Spring is coming!

Eeeeee!!! Spring is coming! It really sank in today while I was out on a run. As I was running around the neighborhood I couldnt help but enjoy the sweet scents that would tickle my nose. I left my house and my nose was instantly accosted by the sweet smell of somebody barbequeing, mmmmm...what a way to get the fat girl motivated to run, tease her with the sweet smell of bbq. Yum! Ok fine, I wont turn around and go home to eat Ill just keep running. And I did. I ran, I ran through the retirement neighborhood and enjoyed the nice quiet, and peaceful scenery. Surprisingly not many people were out enjoying the weather, lazy bums. If they were they would have smelled the lovely smell of laundry. It must be something about this time of night but I ran by quite a few house that were doing laundry. I must say I rather enjoy the sweet smell of fresh laundry, it has a cozy feeling to it. I ran along the trail which had a nice earthy smell to it. Fresh air, trees, leaves, dirt, ahhh the smells of the outdoors; not quite mountain air freshness but it felt clean and crisp in my lungs. I ran until the trail intersected a road I can't say that I've ever travelled on and I managed to find a cow farm? Really? I can't stand cows, they have a very distinct smell to them which isn't very pleasant when you would like to plug you nose but know it'd be a really bad idea because that's the complete opposite of what your body wants you to do when you are running. As much as I hate the smell of cows, farms have a nostalgic smell that reminds me of my parents place where I grew up at. Cow smell is very different than horse smell but it reminds me of all the time I spent outdoors on the "farm"playing outside in the mud with my imaginary gnome villiages that I used to create. Nothing but rocks, water, grass and expansive cityscapes that I would create out in the horse pasture. I had a very creative imagination when I was younger, still do but nowadays it doesn't include gnome villages. I finally made my way to the main road, which in all honesty I didn't know I had gone that far because I was surprised to see just how far from home I really was, then again I blame my workout mix on my ipod for helping me zone out and enjoy the time. Eventually I made my way home and surprisingly felt really good about what I accomplished. Things have been very busy lately and I would have much rathered gone straight to bed when I got home from work but I didn't so I am proud of myself for not doing that. I also feel like I'm starting to break through an imaginary barrier that I have built up. I've been listening to jillian michaels podcast and I really like it. I listen to it during my commute to and from work, and I can honestly say that it is motivating and very educational. I've learned a lot so far and there have only been 4 podcasts. I really like her no nonsense approach to physical strength and wellbeing. Today while I was out running I had a little bit of jillian yelling at me to keep going. "If you're not puking or dead, then keep going." And I did, I had no real reason to stop. The run wasn't hard and my body felt fine, so I just kept going. By the end of my workout I ended up traveling 3.83 miles, now my ocd really really wanted to kick in and say keep going let's make it an even 4 but as soon as I rounded the corner to go home both of my quads cramped up at the same time. Horrible pain. This was the first time my quads have cramped after/during a run. They usually only cramp when I play a long day of volleyball in a tournament. So maybe running long distances isn't for me after all, but I'm not ready to give it up yet because running is easy to do and you can do it anywhere. If there's one thing I've learned its that your body is a lot stronger than you think it is and its capable of doing a lot more than you think it can. I've been contemplating doing a max run to see how far I can run before I can't go any farther. The thought of this has been really terrifying for some reason but today something happened that made me realize that no matter how much it hurts when I finish my max run I'm going to be glad I know my limit and how far I can push my body. Now that my mind is set on doing this I need to find a time to do it. I think my max is going to be somewhere around 5-6miles, ill be pleasantly surprised if its more because that just means I'm closer to my goal of running a half marathon that I thought I was. I get these great, or not so great depending on how you look at it, ideas in my head and I'm very stubborn. I am a very stubborn person and once I get an idea I feel the need to run with it, no pun intended. I got this grand idea to run a half marathon back in september when I heard about the disneyland princess half marathon and I thought that it would be a lot of fun. Well it probably would be but I don't know why I decided I need to do this when I don't conside myself a runner at all. I feel like its just another thing to check off of my to do list, and I feel like its attainable. I think I could do it, now the tricky part is finding someone to do it with me. I am currently accepting offers for running partners for the disney princess half marathon, you know you want to!! :) I shall welcome spring with wide arms and a big smile, I've missed you spring please get here faster.