Thursdays fun run wound up being 8 miles, giving me 15 miles for the day. Not bad for a week day. The weather was great and Jerry was able to make it, however Penny was not feeling well and missed the run. It was a lot of fun running through the dark down by the river chasing Jerry and Maggie.
Saturdays group run also had great weather with the temperature just below freezing with a very light breeze. The route called for full marathoners doing a double loop plus going around Island Park while half marathoners only running one loop. After reviewing the route I was a little concerned about it, but running it went better then I had expected. With Rick still recovering from Arrowhead I decided that I would be the one ensuring that no one got left behind on the group run. I hate the term sweeper, but that's the function I was performing. I ran with a lady training for a 10k before catching up to a couple of girls training for the half. Both of them had run half marathons before so we mainly talked about weekend plans, who would win the superbowl, and other non running topics. After completing the first loop I met up with 2 women training for their first marathon. I recognized them from the previous week and knew that they had run with Rick. We chatted about Ricks event and discussed some hydration and nutrition tips in the 5 miles we shared that day. Getting back to the Y after the run I found Erin and we iced our legs in the snowbank before returning home for a lazy Saturday.
Today I got up early and headed over to Moorhead to meet up with Maggie and Cory for their weekend long runs. The plan was to drive out to Rollag and run on the gravel roads near there to get some hill work in.Cory joined us for the first 10 miles and then drove along the route while Maggie and I put in another 5.75. The weather started out great with warm temps and little wind, but the wind picked up while we were out there as a system began to move in bringing light snow and colder temps. Maggie and I ended our run with a rest in the snowbank. I really enjoyed the chance to run with Cory and Maggie, their enthusiasm is infectious and miles always seem to pass quickly when I run with them.
Total running mileage this week was 51 miles. Considerably more then the 38 I had originally planned, but I'm happy with how the week went. My body has been tolerating the increased distance well, and I got a few chances to run with people I don't get to see on a regular basis. My biggest feeling of accomplishment came from todays long run. It's been a long time since I've done a run longer then 3 hours. There are things that happen when you're out there that long that just don't have time to develop on shorter runs. The rust showed as I got behind on nutrition near mile 12. These are the mental things I need to get a better handle on if I'm going to run ultras. Next week I can back of on miles and focus on increasing the intensity of my workouts.
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