Running Thoughts: 12 Miles

Humming right along with our training... 12 miles yesterday, and I hate to sound overconfident but it was great.  I know it's supposed to be tough, but when you have a great running buddy, the miles just slip by.  

I ran with my new friend Alisa on the two last runs and she is such a blessing.  We have such a great time chatting that I hardly know that we're running 12 miles, my longest distance ever.  We run intervals, 5 minutes running, 1 minute walking.  It's been a good pace.  We start and end strong.  It took us a little over 2 hours for the 12 mile run.  We had some nice neighborhood areas (near Poinsettia Park) then we ran along PCH for a while.  Those surfers are always out in good numbers on a early Saturday morning.  

Last week I ended up with a swollen and infected toe, but it cleared up within 2 days.  It was a little tender after yesterday's 12 miles, but not nearly as bad as last week.  God is good... no injuries right now.  I will never take being "injury-free" for granted.  

My only glitch this week was some poison oak I have on my right leg.  It itches like crazy and I'm usually a pretty good girl and don't scratch, but boy, it's annoying.  I ran around the lake near our home twice last week and it's a sure bet that's where I got it.    Maybe I'll stick to the treadmill this week.

Track workouts continue mid-week and I think they are very beneficial to our Saturday runs (just like our coaches said they'd be!).  Last week at track, we ran 800s at a faster pace than what we'd run on the long runs.  Those track workouts may only be 1 hour long but boy am I wiped out (and sore) afterwards. 

Next week's long run is another "Back Down" week when we'll only be running 9 miles.  Wow, never thought I'd use the word "only" and "9 miles" in the same sentence.  

Alisa and me after our 12 mile run.