Friends.

There is no way in hell I would have run 9 today without Tiffany. We met at 9:30 for a 75 minute Ashtanga Yoga class which was wonderful, if more challenging than usual. Decided to meet at 12:30 as my mom was watching my kids for a few hours as I had a Dr's appointment. Today was a cleanse day, which meant 4 rounds of drinking the cleanse drink, but no meals. I can tell you that I did fine all day, until when I was cooking the kids dinner. I knew, KNEW that my body needed glycogen, and needed it badly. I had some grilled chicken and asparagus and one of the homemade muffins we had made, and felt like a new person. I simply don't think that one is supposed to work out like I did today on cleanse days, so I took the liberty of adapting. I will continue with cleanse day 2 tomorrow, and tone down my activity level.

I can't state enough the value of a running partner, or several running partners. Running for almost 90 minutes can get lonely at times, and when you are running with a friend, chatting away, the miles just click on by so quickly. The accountability factor is also just huge. If you want to achieve any running goal ~ running farther, upping your mileage, or increasing your speed, I can't urge you enough to join a running club or to find a running partner (or three). There is no way I would have done back to back 9's, and now I am looking forward to a day or two of rest, but I'm proud that I did it.