Gliding.

You know that feeling you have when you run strong up and over a hill that normally kicks your butt, and you're gliding through a flat patch and that easy downhill is within sight?

I had that feeling through my whole run tonight and it was marvelous.

I attribute my good run to how I ate today. Lately, I've been trying to eat more of the good stuff (fruits, veggies, lean protein, low-fat dairy, etc.) and less of the not-so-good stuff (mountains of jellybeans, scoops of melted cheese, assorted junk food, etc.). I've also been trying to eat a little more regularly, with smaller meals and healthy snacks throughout the day. Today, I had success. I started the day with a bowl of mini-wheats, had a mid-morning snack of almonds, a lunch of leftover veggie soup and a mid-afternoon snack of half a cinnamon-raisin bagel. In the morning I drank coffee and then switched over to water.

By the time I headed out for my run I was neither hungry nor thirsty. Nor was I crampy from chomping on some last minute dried cranberries or some such thing before I headed out.

Eating has such an impact on running. When I eat well, I run well. Most of the time, that is. Sometimes there are other issues but, for the most part, it is true: Eat well, run well.

So, I'll continue to strive to eat better and hope that by doing so, my running will improve. Now, I will not become some kind of strict health-food-only maniac. I will still eat ice cream. I will still have a cocktail now and then, and French fries, nachos, burgers and all that. But, I will make most of what I eat the healthy, good stuff. Runs like today's run have made me a believer!