Right before we left the parking lot we got a verbal map. I wasn't sure how today would go since my last run wasn't the most pleasant. I have been stressed, fatigued, and on the edge of a cold. I figured I'd run 6 and see how it went and decide if I wanted to finish the 12. Oops. There were 2 distinct routes that divided after 3 miles. okey-dokey. Rachael was having a good run so we continued on to the longer route.
About 1/2 mile into the route we met up with Mike "Wazowski". It was great to see him running with confidence and looking strong! He met his goal of a 30-min 5K and was increasing his speed. Today was the first time he would go 6 miles. He made it 4 miles earlier this week and was pushing himself to 6 today. Yeah Mikey!
The routemaster mentioned the streets to take and I recognized them, but truly had no idea where there were or where I was going. My goal was to not lose sight of someone so I could follow them or run with them. Rachael and I met up with a group of 4 other guys and ran with them for about the next 6 miles. Yes, this was the best 6 miles I've had in a long time! One time I looked at my watch and we were doing a 8:21 pace! Yikes, I can't run that fast! OK wait a minute, I feel great. I'm not terribly winded. Why am I getting anxious over a few numbers. This is a good thing. Keep going as long as you feel great!
I felt some hills, but had no idea how big they were until I got the watch synced with the computer. Yeah, those were some hills. Here's a snapshot of the elevation and speed:
Yep, about mile 9 I started getting tired and wanted to stop. No wait, stop that! I can do this. I AM doing this. I have to keep those boys in my sight because I still don't know where I'm going. We were also too far ahead of the group behind us that we would have wasted a lot of time to wait for them. We finally got to "the stairs". Oh my yes, those are stairs to be feared. I was all but crawling up the stairs. We met them again at the top and they got to a water stop. It cracks me up that the Vardos don't carry any water with them, but stop for 2-3 minutes at prearranged water breaks. Anyway, it was a chance to catch up with them.
We lost them during the last mile, or better yet they lost us. The route took us back to the start at mile 10.4 WHAT?! We still had about a mile and a half to finish. I knew in my mind that I was doing 12 miles today so I had to finish the run I set out to do. If I hadn't finished it, I would have felt like I was cheating myself, quitting. Funny thing, during the run the boys asked if we were training for something in particular. I said, just out running today. They just looked at us and said, "Wow, nice to see people out here running 12....just for fun." lol Yep, love those vardos.
today's mileage: 12 miles running
weekly mileage: 12 miles running
monthly mileage: 29 miles running
annual mileage: 430 miles running; 415 miles riding; 10.6875 miles swimming
TOTAL mileage: 855
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