Twelve

This weekend was technically a "taper" weekend for me, but I decided to taper next week while in the hottest place on earth Texas.  It will fit my schedule better to do some shorter runs next week, so today I took on 12 miles for my long run today.  Mathis and I woke up at 6:00am, and we met up with Evan and Chris by 6:30am at the Huckleberry Trail.  The sun was already up, but it was a GLORIOUS 65 degrees outside.  High humidity, but SIXTY-FIVE degrees, y'all.

We started off, and the first few miles I was NOT feeling it.  This is typical for me, but it was still somewhat disheartening.  Right after mile 2 I had another woman start run up behind me and ask how far I was going.  We chatted and ran together for the next two and a half miles.  I was worried that I was holding her back some, but we seemed to find a good, mutual pace.  It was so nice running with another woman again!  Mathis is a great buddy, but he doesn't talk much.  I chatted with this new girl for quite awhile before she decided to turn back.  I'm hoping to start running some with her, since most of my GYRO buddies are pregnant. :)

Another few miles and I had run the entire trail.  You can get about 6 miles from running the entire length, so it was the perfect place to turn around.  I took a GU, drank some water and Mathis and I headed back for the long haul.  I walked a couple of times, but overall I'm really pleased with my pace.  It was so much better to run earlier in the morning.  Today we finished at the time we had started running on Monday.

I feel so great for having done the distance.  I'm going to admit that I have my eye on another marathon, but I'm hesitant to fully commit just yet.  I'm still not sure if I'll be able to keep up the mileage, but I'm going to go ahead and give it my best shot.  I would really love to be able to run another marathon this year, but we'll see how it goes.  I had such a great run today, and I'm so grateful to have possibly met a new running partner.  Have a great weekend!!

Miles: 12
Time: 2 hours, 12 minutes

Miles this Week: 30
Miles this Month: 30

Farthest Training Run Yet

This morning Mathis and I woke up early to get our long run in before church.  I had 12 miles planned and Mathis had 13 on deck.  I went to bed early with everything set out so I wouldn't have much to do.  I woke up several times during the night in anticipation for our run.  We got up a little before 6am and quickly set out the door.  Because it was still so dark outside we decided to forgo the trail and just run around the neighborhood.  Mathis stayed with me until the sun was up, and then he took off.  It was cold, and it was beautiful this morning.  There's something so peaceful about running so early in the morning.

I kept a very slow pace today.  There were constant hills, and I didn't want to push myself too hard.  My longest training distance ever has been 10 miles.  Granted I ran 13.1 miles for my half-marathon, but those were entirely different conditions...  It's amazing how much the adrenaline of a race will push you.  I knew that this run would be a challenge for me, especially since I was logging so many of the miles on my own.  While the hills were TOUGH, I am really proud of myself.  I felt very strong, and I think I could have even gone a little further?!?!

Unfortunately we finished right around 9am and we were sore and starving... not enough time to stretch, eat and make it to church.  So we improvised and celebrated with a big breakfast at IHOP.  It was such a nice way to relax after our hard training runs this morning.  I'm not sure we can do any more long runs on such crazy hills... at least not until we start training for the Blue Ridge Marathon.  We're definitely planning to find flatter surfaces for our remaining long runs. :)

Miles: 12
Time: 2 hours, 26 minutes

Miles this Week: 12
Miles this Month: 59