8.25 miles!!!

Saturday morning, Casey and I ran 8.25 miles...the farthest I've ran in a long time, and the farthest Casey has ever ran! There will be so many more weekends of this "farthest ever" running. It's really exciting for me. I keep thinking about the first time I trained for a half and also about my marathon training last year. It's fun to revisit all of the thoughts that go through your head when you're running farther and pushing your body. I love how every run is different, given how you feel or what your mood is.

It wasn't a cool day, but the shade of the trail helped. David and Elizabeth were in town, and Elizabeth was getting in a 10 mile run while we did 8. She headed out one direction on the trail and we went the other so we'd see each other later on our passing routes hovering near the water fountain. My GPS crapped out on me at the start. So I just started my timer at a mile marker and we went from there. Casey does math while running very well and always knew our average pace :)  However, I really want to figure out the GPS issues (was it just the trail, just the cloud-cover that day, or is the thing really just done) and maybe look at getting a new one. And definitely a replacement stopwatch for track and the shorter runs where we know the route is needed too. I miss my old, trusty, ugly stopwatch.

Our pace was super comfortable for me. I finally had a run where I could talk with ease and felt like I was holding myself back. I felt great, like a runner, and was having a wonderful run. We did the first two miles out and turned around. I did regret not taking my water belt. Next time I will; it's just too hot to not get water every couple of miles, when I want it. We stopped at 4 and drank. There was a church giving out bottled water and Casey took one. I can't stand carrying water in my hand when I run for some reason, so I opted not too, but I should have. What I shared out of Casey's was great - both drank and pouring on my head.

We saw Elizabeth as we headed out for the second half of the run. After we turned around, I really had to focus to stay at a pace and keep running. I couldn't wait to drink some water. It was a struggle and my body was definitely getting tired.

Elizabeth ran the last .1 or .2 with us and we were finally done. I downed a cold, cold bottle of water and splashed a lot on my face. I can't get over how good water tastes after a run like that. We chatted and stretched a little. Then I put my disgusting sweaty body in my car, sans towel, and went home to shower. I need to start remembering a towel. It's a little stinky in my car today.

So 8.25 miles done and I'm really happy with our pace of 10:25. The last two-three miles were hard, but it felt good. I'm not sore today either, which I'm super happy about. I can feel it in my muscles that I ran farther, but have no hip or knee pains :)  I love running.