I almost caused an accident today. I think.

... and I'm really not as upset about saying that as I probably should be. But, I'll get to that in a minute.

It was a GORGEOUS 35* when I got home today. I STILL can't get over the fact that it's the end of January and the weather is doing this. And it's supposed to be almost 50* tomorrow! Sheesh. I debated about wearing my windbreaker on my run, but I decided against it since the temperature was border-line and I'd be pretty well protected if I just stayed on Whitehouse-Spencer Road for my 4 miles. It was surprisingly easy for me to hold my pace on the slow side for the first mile and I made a conscious effort to not constantly look at my Garmin. Every time I heard my Garmin beep, I made tiny adjustments to the length of my stride and how I pushed off with each step to speed up. Looking at my mile times, I think it worked! *big smile* Is it weird if I say that I could FEEL the strength in my legs. I spent a LOT of my run thinking about how much running these longer distances will help me get faster in the 5k. I'm keeping that DailyMile goal of running a sub-30 minute 5k in my sights. Every day I have a run like today's, my "resolution" of ENJOYING my run seems a little more real.

As for the almost-accident ... About a mile and a half into my run, I was watching a car coming towards me and, of course, I got as far off the side of the road as I could safely. There was another car going the same direction as me (which I later noticed was a Township Cop!). I don't know if the car coming towards me was focused on me and didn't notice the cop or the other way around, but he noticed "the 2nd part of the equation" at the last second, slammed on his breaks and swerved towards the center line RIGHT by me ... which also happened to put him RIGHT IN FRONT of the cop too. Luckily, they didn't collide and neither car was ever near enough to me to make me nervous (just plenty of expletives that were NOT safe for little ears). I don't know if the guy got a ticket or what, but just the cop was sitting there on the side of the road when I turned around and headed back past that spot. The cop recognized me right away (the road is pretty straight through there, so he probably watched me all the way to where I turned around and came back) and flagged me down to ask if I was ok. I told him I was, and I kept on my way.

Are you going to participate in the Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold on February 11? You can find it {HERE} on Facebook, too. You should. It's simple:

• Mark your calendars
• Print out a running bib {found on SUAR's post or on the facebook profile, both links above} and pin it to your shirt
• Gather your friends, your running club members, your families
• If it’s wet where you are, “laminate” your bib with postage tape and punch holes in it
• If that time doesn’t work, go when you can
• GO. Run as far and as long as you want. Walk, hike, cycle, rollerblade if you don’t want to or can’t run.
• Please share this on your blogs, Facebooks and Twitters
• Keep it simple. Just run with Sherry on your minds and hearts. 

I'm racing the Winterfest 5k in Whitehouse that day (along with running an extra 3 miles to get in my 6 for the day). I'll be wearing my number bib on my front, but I'll be PROUDLY wearing Sherry's bib on my back.