I’m a lucky lady. 

I live in a runner-friendly city with lots of paved and unpaved trails at my disposal. I have lots of awesome friends who share their love of running and life with me. 

I’ve had the opportunity to introduce people to running and to mentor them through a 5K training program, and that has changed my life. 

Case in point: my friend Sarah is not a morning person. Much like me. 

But she loves to run. I was her mentor for a time, and she has decided to run a marathon this fall. 

This insane heat has lead her to join the crazy train of running before the sun comes up. Since I was running at dawn this morning, I sent Sarah a text to encourage her to wake up and greet the sun. 

  
She lives in Northwest Arkansas now so she couldn’t actually run with us, but she was there in spirit. 

And what a beautiful morning it was.

  
If only my run could have been less terrible. I couldn’t get my mind right. I felt physically tired, and my legs felt slow and lead-like. The sweat was aggressive due to the crazy humidity. 

Thankfully, I had to Denise right next to me, encouraging me. I had Sarah in spirit. And I knew that I could run three miles and not die because I’d finished longer runs in much worse conditions. 

The mind is so powerful. It amazes me. How one negative thought, just a blip at first, can ruin your mental game. 

Somehow, despite my mental funk, Denise and I managed a quicker pace than Monday.  

 
It just tells me that my body can do amazing things, whether my mind is with it or not. And that’s enlightening.

Plus, I found out other people are getting up early to chase the sun, too. I’m calling it the Sunrise Run Club.