Double-Digit Day Was Double the Fun

After having large Thanksgiving meals with friends and family on both Thursday and Friday (Turkey Trot race report coming soon), the last thing I felt like doing was getting up early and running on Saturday morning.  Still, I had made plans to meet up with an old friend from high school who bravely agreed to join me on my long training run.  So we dressed warmly (since it was an unseasonably chilly 35 degrees) and set off on the Memorial Park jogging trail around 7:15am.  This run presented a couple firsts for me, the biggest of which was that it was the first time I've ever  truly run with another person - I'm usually a solitary runner.  It was also the first time I've ever done a long run without listening to music.  Forget running alone with music - I had a blast catching up with Elizabeth, and we completed an  awesome 10-mile run together.  Afterward, we finished up with a breakfast that included yummy food and lots of hot coffee...a great ending to a great morning.  So, even though I was dreading this double-digit day, doing it with a friend made it double the fun!

Saturday's stats:

• 10.0 miles; 2:11:10; 13:07min/mi avg

Tailgating = Trouble

BBQ chicken, brisket & sausage, potato salad, coleslaw, deviled eggs, homemade rolls, baked beans, pound cake, cookies, and ice cream all made up the spread at my office's annual pre-Thanksgiving tailgate party today.  It was an amazing feast - and I ate entirely too much of it to be comfortable.  So, I started my treadmill run this evening feeling pretty yucky.  I still ran parts of the scheduled 3 miles, but ended up walking more than I'm happy with...  But what's the most important part?  I still did it.  I sucked it up, and made myself do it.  3 miles.  And am so glad that I did.  I felt much better afterward, and it made me that much more pumped for the 5-mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning!!!

Today's stats:

• 3 mile run/walk; 0:46:03; 15:21 min/mi

9 Down, 4.1 To Go!

Nine miles is just over 2/3 of the half marathon distance - and I ran 9 yesterday and felt awesome afterward, so I'm feeling very confident about finishing well in January.  6 of those miles were on the hilly gravel trail (again), and I followed up with the last 3 miles inside on the treadmill.  But I had great average times (for me) on both segments - so I'm happy. Combine that with a winning football game, and seeing the new Harry Potter movie, and that made for an incredible day!!!

Stats:

• 0.52 mi warm-up walk
• 6 mi trail run; 1:18:40; 13:07 min/mi avg
• 3 mi treadmill run; 0:39:14; 13:05 min/mi avg