I did it! I did it!

I ran all the way up that hill I told you all about in my last long run summary.  Yesterday afternoon I did my second 9 mile long run and I managed to make it up the entire hill without stopping.  As a matter of fact, I continued running ever after the hill and only stopped for crosswalk signals and to tuck my shirt into my droopy running pants.

As a side note - I would be irritated at how quickly I get too thin for my running pants... but really... who gets annoyed at losing weight?  From now on, I'm only allowed to buy cheap running pants until I hit my goal weight.  It's time for me to start using safety pins to keep my pants from falling off while I'm running.  Having to choose between slowing down (and losing speed on my miles) or running with my tub flopping around (AND getting rained on) is not a very motivation inducing choice.  I felt rather silly when I'd be readjusting my pants as people drove by, but I just had to remind myself that I'd rather someone see me awkwardly stuffing my shirt into my pants than have them see my pasty-white Mama belly flapping out over my droopy running pants.  And that reminder is enough to make one laugh out loud and keep running. 

Seriously, though, this was a great run.  It almost didn't happen.  It was raining nasty the entire afternoon, and I had decided I wasn't going to run.  I told my hubby that I'd decided not to run, and he was like, "yes you are - you have to run, see ya."  I was very annoyed.  But I'm glad he kicked me out of the car and made me hit the road.  I'm very proud of myself for finishing strong and getting the miles in.  With the break I took these previous two weeks, I think it would have been a bad thing (at least for my mental game) for me to skip this long run.

I was feeling rather sore towards the end, but as long as I'm careful to run with good form, I felt fine.  Just have to remember not to roll on the outside of my feet.  :)

My running schedule for this week looks like this;

Wed: Couch to 5k (W1D2) w/Dan (2 miles)
Fri: Couch to 5k (W1D3) w/Dan (2 miles) + another round alone (2miles) + Run home (3) = 7
Weekend: Long Run = 10 MILES!!!!

Pretty exciting stuff, if ya' ask me!

Oh, and I've spent the last four days making a test batch of "flooded" sugar cookies for my Valentine's Day "Operation: Love Muffin" thing.  Thought I'd share some of the fun with you guys;

My favorites from the test-batch