Thoughts on Saturday's Run

There is nothing better than running with friends.  I love running and chatting.  You learn so much about people when you run and talk!  Plus it helps the miles go by faster.

HOWEVER, Saturday was not about running with friends.  Colleen, Michelle, Laura and I met at the Berlin park for a 7 mile run.  I have been concerned about my training pace recently and decided to see how far I could go at a 9 minute pace, which is what I need to keep if I want to break 2 hours at the half marathon.

So when the group started, I headed out on my own.  I didn't want my pace to interfere with anyone else's run so I just took off on my own.  Sorry girls...sometimes I have to run for me.  Of course, they all understood without me having to say a word.

We ran a course that Colleen mapped out for us.  It was great to have a change of scenery from the typical runs in Ocean Pines, but the problem with the course was that it had a lot of turns.  I couldn't remember where exactly I was supposed to run so I kept stopping and turning around to see which way Colleen wanted me to go.  Otherwise, I kept a pretty decent pace.

Colleen and I stopped for a water break at her house which fell at about mile 4.  I sat down and re-tied my shoes.  That was a mistake because the second I stood up, my legs got cramped.  I should not have sat down!  It took me about a mile to get back into my pace but I was able to get it back.  I would say that for the majority of the run I stayed between a 9 and a 9:30 pace.  It's still not where I need to be if I want to break 2 hours, but my last post discussed how I feel about that right now!

We lost Michelle and Laura somewhere along the way so they just ran the 5K course twice.  It was really cool because at the end of the run, I circled back to run the last 1/2 mile with Colleen just at the same time that Michelle and Laura came around the corner.  So we all started and ended the run together.

Saturday was supposed to be a long run, but I turned it into a tempo run I suppose.  I am proud of myself for keeping a steady pace the whole time but know that I have a lot more work to do in the month that's remaining!