Another Long One

I had a pretty good week of running.  A ran 4 days including a long one on Saturday.

Twice in so many weeks, I was able to meet up with Amy for a long run.  This time the rain was done before we started, not during it.  I picked up Amy around 6:30 and this time we headed down to the lakefront to go on our long run.  We were going to run the same route and path that the South Shore Half Marathon but keep going past the turn around and then a small loop before heading back.

I have a lot of friends that I run with but most of the time, I am the slower of the group or the faster runner so running with Amy is really nice.  She and I are very close in our pace.  We run side by side and don't have to wait or feel like we have to speed up to keep with each other.  We get in some good talking along the way, that is until toward the end when the talk lessens as we tire.

This time we ended up going 20 miles on the path on a cool, slightly breezy morning.  Since we were planning on going 20, I was nervous that I may have bitten of more than I could chew since 125 miles was the longest I had gone since my comeback.  Amy had already did a 20 in preparation for the Madison Marathon in 3 weeks and this would be her last long run before it.  Through 14, we both were feeling great and then my legs started to feel tired.  I had planned to take a Gu at 15 so I kept the pace hoping for the best but ready to let Amy go ahead.  Our pace was about 8:57 at this time and after my 15 mile Gu, we kept it up and I felt a little better.

Unlike last week, this week our Garmins were not in sync.  As we ran, my Garmin was ahead of hers by almost 0.01 per mile.  As I reached 20 miles, her Garmin had 0.15 to go so we kept going until hers hit 20.  We made it and both of us pretty tired but glad to be finished.  We finished at a pace of 8:55 per mile.

It was a good run and on the way back, we treated ourselves to some chocolate milk and then a 20 minute or so ride home.  It was good to be home and relax for awhile.  There will most likely not be a long run for me next weekend as I am coaching at 2 track meets on Friday and Saturday.  I am excited to see how my kids do in there meets coming up.  They have worked hard over the last few weeks of such a short track season.  And there are a couple kids who really put their hearts into the workouts and really tried to learn what they could.  I hope they all do well in their races.

Only 4 weeks until my first race after my injury.  A Half Marathon.  I am looking forward to it.

Keep on Running!!!