Running on Vacation?? What has happened to me?

In the past, I never would have dreamt of packing my running shoes with me when I went on vacation. Vacation always meant loading up on tons of greasy, sweet, carb loaded foods. The foods that you limit yourself to on a regular day, the "special ones." The thought of running was not a concept I would have ever fathomed.  Sweating on vacation....not happening.

Well, I guess I have been brain-washed. This past weekend Craig and I drove up to Pigeon Forge to spend some time with his family. As I was packing my suitcase on Thursday morning the first thing to go in the  bag were my running clothes and shoes. I think I even shocked myself. I realized that I am becoming addicted to running. I love it. I look forward to it every most mornings. So far, I have not missed one day of training, (I even ran on Thanksgiving) and I didn't want the first one to be due to being out of town.

Friday and Saturday morning I woke up early laced up my shoes, put layers of clothing on (it was so so cold!), and with my IPOD in hand, I darted out the door. My Friday run seemed super easy. I ran at my fastest pace yet and when the voice on my IPOD said "distance 3 miles" I was shocked. I felt great! The scenery was perfect. Christmas decorations were everywhere and the mountains in the background were beautiful. If I could run in a new place every day I think I could run forever. I am so easily distracted by my surroundings that my feet just keep moving and I don't have time to think about how tired I am.

Such Beautiful Scenery!!

Saturday's run was a bit more challenging. My cousin in-law, Aaron, decided to run with me. I love running with other people but running with him made me a little anxious. He is super tall so his stride is like 3x the distance of mine. I knew it was going to be a challenge to keep up with him. Needless to say, at about the 1.5 mile marker I gave out. I had to stop for a few seconds to catch my breath and slow my heart rate down. I made it to the 3 mile mark and found him waiting there for me.

So...from here on out my running shoes are going wherever I go. There is no better way to discover a new place and see beautiful scenery than by strapping on my shoes and hitting the pavement. Thank you Team in Training for changing yet another aspect of my life!

Please remember to check out my fundraising home page to make a donation!!!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ga/Georgia12/amandamckinney