It was kindof surreal to be back running in my old neighborhood. I'm staying with a friend who lives a mile from our old house, so I figured I'd run one of my old routes to the ocean and back with a quick jog around the old neighborhood as well. It was so beautiful, and made me so nostalgic! I get kind of sappy about running in Maine because this was where I first started to run about four years ago. I remember huffing and puffing my way down the last 1/2 mile to my house, running a one mile loop twice and feeling like I'd done a lot! The first time it ever occurred to me to try to push for a time-oriented goal (instead of just finishing) was as I was finishing a 3 mile run right in front of my old house, and I wondered whether I could run fast enough to finish a 5k in under 25 minutes. It took me two tries, but I did it before we moved. And now my goal in the 5k is to break 22.
Anyway, I just love this place, and I'm so happy to be back here with my family, running the old morning routes and breathing the air that feels like home!