Running in Northern VA.

First. A little background on me. I am not an Atlanta native. I was born and raised in Burke, VA - right outside of Washington DC in the beautiful Fairfax County. I go home 3 times a year and well... I am home now. I figured I would take my week off work to really focus on getting in the miles and the work in the final preparation for the Disney Marathon (which is in 46 freaking days). I don't know what it is about Northern VA but the runs are so much easier and the miles don't seem as long. Maybe it's running in the 'burbs ... the air is a different quality and you don't have to dodge cars or wait for the light to let you go. But I have had 2 great runs since being home and hope for at least 4 more.

I have never been so giddy about running (maybe giddy is the wrong word but you know what I mean). I get excited about all the different routes I can take since all the neighborhoods seem to snake together. The hills here are butt kickers and seem to be EVERYWHERE but evidently hills are your friend... blah blah blah. The weather is colder than I am used to so I have been dealing with burning lungs. But most importantly, I just have really enjoyed being able to vary my runs. I feel like in Atlanta I have to stick to Peachtree and the side roads off Peachtree and if I want to vary it I literally have to hop in the car. Not the story up here, just head down the driveway and go. Which is nice. And convenient. It's been great to just clear my head and think. Granted a lot of thinking has surrounded my marathon '10 race schedule and how I want to do it. Like which race I want to do with Team in Training and which ones I want to do solo. But it has been nice to have 1 hour of just me time.

It has also really got me thinking about how I am gonna fit running back into my life when I get back to Atlanta. I think I truly have found the like of running (not the love yet, but one step at a time my friend) but running is such a struggle and I know I am supposed to schedule it like an appointment and I do have it scheduled ... it is just soo hard to stick to the dang schedule. From 3pm-4pm everyday, M-F, but I just get into the work groove and it is so hard to just disconnect from it all. With that said: I need to just disconnect. I am thinking about doing 1 hr runs daily to just de-stress and clear my mind (while training for Disney) and then hit the elliptical for 30 minutes and the bike for 15 when I get home at night. I know I am not going to conquer Disney, but I do want to finish it in less than 6 hours! =) **when I finish Disney I will start on a real methodical marathon training plan, until then I will just put one foot in front of the other and GO!**

I have about 5 more days up here but my life is about to get crazy busy with seeing my boyfriend's family and with the holiday. However, I will get in some miles because there are at least 2 more "routes" I am dying to run - lots of hills of course. And I will more than likely hit the Gold's Gym in Burke 1 or 2 more times for cross training - FYI that gym is really nice.

In case I do not blog before hand - have a great and safe Thanksgiving. To everyone running Turkey Trots or the Atlanta half and full marathon - have fun and run like the wind! =)