It Is a Marvelous Day

This morning I went out to get the paper and saw a box sitting on the front stoop of my house.  I have ordered a few things recently but I did not hear a truck drop anything off so I did not know it was there.  What is it?  These:

A new pair of shoes!  Can you think of many other ways to start a day off so perfectly?  Well, it could have been better if I'd had the time to lace them up and run in them.  I didn't run in them, they went on the shelf and will be my next pair of shoes.  I already have a couple pair in rotation so I am set for a couple months (I hope).  Until then, the shoes will be watching me as I run on the treadmill and lace up to go on outdoor runs.  I'll be in them soon enough.  It was 6 a.m. and already a marvelous day!

To make the day even better, it is supposed to be 48F today!  Yes, it is mid-February and it is supposed to be almost 50 degrees outside.  According to the weather it will break 50 tomorrow.  The only bummer is that I have a race this weekend so I'm not going to log any big miles outside today or tomorrow because I want to be ready for Sunday's race.  Instead, I'll get Maddie out for a couple miles today and tomorrow!  She deserves another run outside.

Me, Amanda, & Felice (2010)

Speaking of Sunday, it will be cold again.  Unlike last year, we are not supposed to have 40 mph wind gusts.  Unlike last year, I do not plan on having food poisoning (from now until after the race I'm only eating tried and true food from my own kitchen).  This year, the Pink Ladies are going to kick butt!  We are all healthy (minus that icky cold I'm working on getting rid of) and ready to run.  The hardest part getting ready for this relay was figuring out who was running which leg because we are all capable of running any of the distances.  We have figured out who is running what as of a few days ago:

• Felice, the speedy one, has the first leg of 9.2 miles
• I'm running the second leg, 5.7 miles
• Amanda, who became a marathoner since we ran last year, is finishing the race with the 11.3 mile leg
• Yes, that equals 26.2 miles!  We're running a marathon relay.  I cannot wait.  Last year we finished in 4:22:59.  I cannot wait to see what we can do this year.

Speaking of my 5.7 mile leg, I am supposed to do a 5 mile tempo run today.  I'm saving it and adding 0.7 on and will run it on Sunday for the race.  That means my goal is 55:06 (9:40/mi).  I have not done a tempo run outside since last fall, so I am hoping it goes well.  Of course, I wouldn't mind going faster...but who wouldn't mind that?