Happy, happy Sunday everyone! I am in way too good of a mood and have way too much energy considering that I just ran 16 miles. It is a BEAUTIFUL day and I can seriously say that enjoyed every single second of my long run this morning. 😀

I felt great when I woke up at 7 a.m. – I got eight and a half hours of sleep last night! I fueled for my run with peanut butter toast with honey on whole wheat and a cup of black coffee.

It had not even hit 60 degrees yet when I headed out the door with my favorite running partner.

Sullie joined me for the first three miles and was full of energy. She is just as happy as I am that the temperatures are finally dropping so that she can run with me again!

I dropped Sullie off, strapped on my FuelBelt and iPod and took off to knock out 13 more miles. I felt so good during this run and was able to comfortably maintain a pretty strong pace.

I ran 16 miles in 2:28:24, averaging a 9:17 pace. I’m also happy to report that I ran a negative split for the second half. I finished the first eight miles in 1:15 and the second eight miles in 1:13:24 – a small negative split but it still counts!

I really don’t want to jinx myself but I’m just so happy that my long runs have been going well. I have always struggled with injuries while training in the past and I’m so incredibly pleased with how my body is holding up for marathon training this time around. Please, please, please keep it up body!!!

One other thing I want to mention about today’s run is that it was done in new shoes. I was waaaayyy overdue for a new pair. I finally decided to just suck it up and get them on Friday. I headed over to Run For Your Life and picked up a new pair of Brooks Adrenaline.

This is my 10th-ish pair of Brooks Adrenaline (check out the line up). I am so in love with this shoe. My feet felt a million times better today in new shoes. Night and day difference. Moral of the story, if you even slightly feel like it’s time for new shoes. It’s time. 100 percent worth the investment.

Backing up to last night’s dinner. Brandon’s sister Rachael and her boyfriend Stephen came over to cook out last night.

I made an assortment of veggies with ranch and corn dip as an appetizer.

Also on the menu was salad, baked beans, hamburgers and hotdogs.

I did not want to risk it with my stomach before my long run so I had an Amy’s Veggie Burger instead.

Topped with a slice of havarti and heirloom tomato. Grilling the veggie burger and the bun really made a huge difference in flavor. YUM!

Off to meet my in law’s for lunch and then we’re going to a fun concert tonight. I am so hungry after my run and have a feeling I’ll be consuming a pretty impressive amount of food today! I’ll fill you in later!