It was BEAUTIFUL out there when I ran this morning. The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze and it was around 57 degrees.

The section of trail that I started out on this morning (it's an urban, paved rail-trail) is shaded and covered by trees and when the sun is shining down through the canopy it's a brilliant emerald color. Even though it's a little further south and a bit more out of the way for me, it reminds me of "home" and when I'm running there I can feel my entire body relax.

The trail emerges and continues by a community center - meeting rooms, athletic complex and a water park (that The Oldest and I spent some great time at this afternoon) - but there are smaller paths that shoot off to the side and through native grasses and what I think is a man-made wetland. It was as I was turning onto one of these side paths that the sun was directly behind me - so immediately before me was the outline of my body in a silhouetted shadow.

What I saw was a woman running with her head held high - shoulders defined and arms strong with powerful legs propelling her forward. She spoke to me of strength and courage and inner beauty. We ran together for a little over a mile, and as I watched I was filled with such a rare moment of truly believing in my accomplishments personally and professionally. To have gone from 180+ pounds to starting to train for my first marathon... To be considered an example of system best practice by my employer... To have been able to call on my body to complete 4 half marathons... To have overcome personal adversity... To have reached a point where I'm no longer running solely for my day-to-day survival... To be able to say, "I was only able to get in 5 miles this morning..." And then we parted - but that moment will stay with me forever.

Hope everyone had a great Thursday :)