Dreaded Long Run turned Fast Long Run....

I did a long run today. Not a long slow run like you are supposed to, but a long fast run. Why? Not sure. Wasn't my goal. I ran the first 7 miles with my great friend Julie. We were cruising. I felt great, didn't want to slow her down but knew this might bite me in the ass later. After that run I was meeting my husband and he was to be my sag-wagon. He rode the bike along with me with water and good company. 

I was sort of dreading this as I wasn't sure how Matt felt about being my sag-wagon. It ended up being great. He pushed me to go faster than I normally would've as I didn't want to go so slow that he would fall over. He handed me water, encouraged me to keep going, told me I looked good from behind and pushed me to keep my speed up at the end when I was clearly tired. I love my usual long run group, but this taught me the importance of mixing it up. I think my weekend group has gotten very comfortable with one another, we chat a lot and don't pay much attention to our intensity (I am speaking for myself).  Yes, we are always tired at the end, but I think we could do better! Okay gals, if you are reading this don't be scared to run with me now!

I ended up doing a little over 19 miles today. I might possibly be doing 2 marathons in October, Twin Cities Marathon as a pacer to help two friends qualify for the Boston Marathon and there is a chance I will be starting in the elite wave at the Nike Women's San Francisco Marathon.  I won't find out about the elite marathon until the end of August to mid-September so I am training for a marathon I am not even sure I am running! This long run I completed today re-inspired me to keep training hard for San Francisco in hopes I will be at the start line. 

Thanks to my wonderful hubby for supporting me today on the run, I will run with you on the bike ANY day! And girls, get ready to mix it up! I think we all have a little untapped potential!