I know, I know, I fell off the bandwagon.  🙂

The long run on January 30th was another bump in distance for all of us – 16 miles!  Fortunately, it was sunny and not overly cold.

Before the run, I finally got a chance to meet Grace, one of the other members of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s charity team.  She’d been home in Washington State for the school holidays, and this was her first run with our training group.  We snapped a quick picture before setting out.

I ran with my “usual” (as of the last three weeks) group.  There are about five of us who all run at about the same pace.  It’s great to have company during those long runs!

I definitely needed the support this time, though.  About two miles in, I knew that it was going to be a miserable 16 miles.  Some days, it just feels like you never hit your stride, and running is more of a struggle than usual- and this was one of those days.  I just had to push through it.  Fortunately, Amy (one of the girls in our informal group) stuck with me when I had to slow down the pace around mile 9.  We spent the rest of the run discussing the birthday parties we were going to later that evening and our fundraising progress.

Mercifully, runner’s high *finally* set in around mile 13, once we got back the hilliest section of the course.  In physiological terms, a runner’s high happens when your body spikes production of its very own drugs- endogenous opioids and/or endocannabinoids (science is divided on which one). 😈  In practical terms, it means that a) you know you’re in pain, but can’t feel it, and b) you get very dumb.  Basic math and anything beyond moving your legs at a constant rate becomes an impossibility.  It’s at this point that the fervent prayers to stoplights begin.  (“Please stay green!  Don’t make me stop!”).

That high is what got me back to Joint Ventures, our training base, after a little less than 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Our “short” long run (just over 10 miles) this past weekend, on the other hand, was absolutely GORGEOUS.  We’d had a minor snowstorm the day before, leaving Boston covered in a fresh coating of fluffy white snow:

It was sunny and warm enough that almost all the snow had melted off of the sidewalks and carriage roads where we were running. The fresh white snow, sunny skies, warm (for winter, meaning 30-ish degrees) weather, and clear roads combined created ideal winter running conditions.  We couldn’t stop commenting about how gorgeous it was, and how days like this make running in the winter worth it.

It also gave us all a collective burst of energy!  Our group set some new personal records.  We finished our 10.3 mile run in 1:17:17, which averages out to about a 7:29 minute per mile pace.  It was well above our typical pace, but we felt great!  We ended the run with a photo outside of Joint Ventures, our training base.

Rob, Amy, Pablo, me, Elizabeth, and Sara

We’re running another 16-miler this Saturday. I’m hoping for clear skies, dry roads, and an easier time of it than two weeks ago!