I was thinking about copping out on my long run today by just doing 7 miles with my friend Helen, but then I remembered that I have a half marathon in two weeks, and I haven't run any real distances since Ogden marathon! Luckily for me, my friend Katie called yesterday and wondered if I would run 13 miles with her today, with the understanding that I HAD to go her pace...she needed the company. It was actually a relief to hear that I would be forced to go slower, since I've had a tendancy lately to run too hard on tired legs...consequently, there have been no long runs in a while. We decided to run 10 miles, then finish up with a 5K race that my neighborhood was sponsering for FREE! I invited my whole family to run the race with us, and even the babies were able to participate, since Ben did HIS long run after Tarzan last night, running from the theater to home in the middle of the night! So he was willing to "run" with the small ones, even though we were both pretty sleepy from being up until after 1:00 this morning.
Katie, my daughter Britnee, and I left just after 5:00 AM and did an 8.6 mile loop, then ran to the start of the race, where we met up with my family. We casually ran the 5K, except I got a sprint in the last half mile, then we had to run another 6/10ths of a mile to get our 13.1 in. I finished my half-marathon distance in 2:07:30, which was perfect for an easy long run...plus I got to see all of my children cross the finish line and get handed a medal! My 5-year-old said, "Mommy! I WON!!!" He only ran about a mile before he jumped in the stroller with the baby, but Ben said my 8-year-old ran 2 full miles wothpout stopping! Not bad for having no running training at all. I guess I may need to actually start taking my kids running....they've been begging for quite a while.
The great thing about today was that I felt fantastic after the run, which, in my opinion, is how a person should feel after a long training run...I really helps add to my confidence for upcoming races. Today, I feel just a little bit like I'm a runner again - LOL! What an awesome morning. :D | 