This is a rare thing for me. My next race is 3 weeks away (actually, just SHY of three weeks)... and the NYC Marathon is 12 weeks away.

Normally, by this point in my training, running is becoming a bit of a chore. The longer runs making my day feel short, and my legs feel old. I miss the time at home. The time with my babies. The time... period.

This training cycle, however, feels different. I'm having a lot of fun with my training, and as a result, I'm seeing myself getting faster... stronger. And I'm not hurting in the process.

I find myself looking forward to my runs. Crying over the ones I miss (like tonight... damned summer cold...). I've been stopped twice now by random guys to compliment my smile while I'm running. I smile when I run?? Wow!

I'm finding that by being less brutal to myself (I'm not trying to PR every single run), and letting my body rest (shhhh, sometimes I spin instead of run to 'rest' my legs) and recover (actual recovery days... you know... where I don't exercise at all!).... the end result is amazing.

Maybe I'll never Boston Qualify. Maybe I will. But either way, as long as running is still fun, I hope that I'm still running, still 'racing' well into my old age. And I hope I'm still meeting up with so many of you at those races... playing and having fun, like we're still little kids. Because if it's not fun, then what's the point? :)