8 miler

I've heard people on our Team talking for at least a week about how nervous they were about the 8 mile run on Sunday. I was actually one of them, I guess. I hadn't run that far in quite awhile, and we just backtracked to 5 miles last week, that's a big jump!

So we started off down the Parkway, I really like it there. It was Kathy and Kelly and me, bringing up the rear, but we didn't really care that much. The water stop was around 3 miles, so it was a nice break to stretch and try out my Clif Bloks (not bad tasting, a little hard to get them all down at once, but I guess I really didn't have to do that) and then keep going. We caught sight of Lake Harriet and then turned right back around.

I always think it's awkward to just stop. and then turn around. and then start running again, I don't know if there's a smooth way to do that.

Anyway, right about then the 3 of us were commenting on how this wasn't so bad, how anything 3 miles or below is really becoming a drag. I actually think I'm beginning to hate 3 mile runs. 2 miles isn't bad, still quick and relatively painless. 1 mile, well, that's a piece of cake, but kind of over too soon. 4 miles and above, you get into a rhythm, you work out the stiffness, you start feeling the endorphines. 3 miles just sucks.

By about the last 1/3 to 1/2 mile my Clif Bloks had run out and I was getting pretty tired. But we finished, and Kelly kept up with us without using any sort of energy supplement - go Kelly!!
KG, correct me if I'm wrong, we were about 1hr 29minutes? That was quicker than my pace for the 10mi last year, so I'm pretty pumped about that. My hips were pretty tired, had to stretch them out quite a bit, but it was a good run. Hopefully I'll keep saying that as they keep getting longer

And then I went home and played with my nephews and my niece at the playground later that afternoon. I have no idea where the energy came from at all.