Another Great Weekend

Another weekend is coming to an end, leaving me with nothing but smiles . . . which is actually somewhat shocking when you take into account the fact that I had my first ever experience with back-to-back long runs (a la Goofy) this weekend.

I ran the first one on Friday morning before class. Getting up at 5:45 a.m. was a total b*tch due to the fact that I have been suffering from some insomnia lately. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with adding the evening circuit training workouts into my routine. I'm hoping once my body gets used to them, I'll get back to sleeping better. Somehow, despite my lack of sleep, I managed to drag my practically lifeless body out of bed, get dressed and head out the door by 6:30 on Friday morning. It was nothing short of a miracle, folks. Once I got going, I was fine, of course (always am--it's just the waking up that's hard) . . . completing 6.01 miles in 56:24 (9:23 pace). The best thing about the run was the weather--in the high-fifties--just about perfect running weather, if you ask me! The funny thing is that 3 out of the 5 people I passed while running looked at my scantily clad self (just shorts and a short-sleeved shirt) and asked me incredulously, "Aren't you freezing?!" Ah, Floridians. I resisted the urge to point out that it would actually have to be about 25 degrees cooler to be considered "freezing".

Saturday morning held another 5:45 a.m. wake-up call, as I was scheduled to meet Morgan from the blog Caution: Redhead Running for my 12-mile long run. As I mentioned in my last post, we were originally going to run long together; but it turned out that she had a 10K to rock the next day (word on the street is that there was a PR involved--keep an eye out on her blog for the race report). Rather than cancel on me, though, she offered to ride her bike alongside me and keep me company. How infinitely cool is that?! Being my usually car-less New Yorker self, I got lost on my way to our meet-up spot (shocking, I know). I've said this before, and I will say it again . . . I should NOT be trusted to drive anywhere, people! Once Morgan figured out where I was and helped me to find my way, though, we finally got to meet. Shortly thereafter we embarked on what was to become my favorite long run EVER. First of all, not only did Morgan ride her bike alongside me and distract me with all kinds of fun topics of conversation, but she also wore a backpack and insisted on carrying ALL of my sh*t for me! Oh, and she also brought me an ice cold bottle of water and carried that on her bike for me too. Talk about being spoiled! Everyone we passed was seriously jealous of my personal support crew!

Now--let's be honest--I was slightly nervous about this run going into it. I just wasn't sure how the school workouts plus all the running I've been doing plus the back-to-back long runs were going to affect me. I was secretly convinced that my legs were going to give up 2 miles in and I was going to look really stupid and lame in front of this awesome runner girl who could have just slept in was it not for me! But seriously, the miles FLEW by. We chatted about everything under the sun . . . lots of it running-related, but lots of it not. At one point, we got a good laugh in when some dude biking ahead of us stopped and picked up this HUGE palm branch. He then proceeded to ride his bike while carrying this thing. WTF? Sadly, by the time we realized what he was doing, he was too far in front of us for Morgan to snap a photo. Still, it was definitely good for a laugh or two! Honestly, every moment from start to finish was just so much fun. Isn't it so funny how you can meet another running blogger for the first time and the conversation just flows as though you've known each other for years?

In the end, we finished 12.01 miles in 2:01:25; or a 10:07 pace. Things that are awesome about this: 1) I FINALLY managed to keep my pace down. I think chatting with Morgan really helped with this. Ah, conversation pace! Who knew all you had to do to find it was . . . to have a conversation with someone; 2) I felt REALLY good throughout the run. During maybe the last 1.5 miles, my legs started to fatigue a little and it started to heat up a bit; but it wasn't a big deal; 3) I am now feeling much more confident in my ability to do the training for Goofy. Although, seriously? I might just have to pay Morgan to accompany me on all of my long runs from here on out! We have tentative plans to run long together at some point in December, and I can't wait!

After we finished, we chatted for a bit longer until we both realized how hungry we were getting and went our separate ways. I headed back to my hotel, ate, showered, got in some phone time with both Wilson and my mother, napped, and then spent the entire evening watching college football and hiding from my classmates who were trying to insist that I go out and get drunk with them. I almost feel badly . . . but not really. I think it's just REALLY hard for them to understand that I'm just not that into "partying" these days. Poor souls. They too will get old and boring someday . . .

Today was finally a rest day; so I've made the most of it . . . sitting on my bum and perusing my new favorite website: Care2 Make a Difference (http://www.care2.com/). For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it has all kinds of healthy and green living articles; as well as like a trillion amazing and healthy recipes. There is just so much to peruse, I have wasted hours upon hours today doing so. That being said, I was also semi-productive--getting some grocery shopping done, tidying up my room and doing some dishes; not to mention, doing some cooking. That is honestly my favorite thing about not working a job I hate that demands my attention 24 hours a day . . . I FINALLY have time to cook and clean up after every meal. What a blessing! :)

Alrighty, well I'm off to hit the books . . . but I hope you all had as super-fabulous a weekend as I did!! Can't wait to see what y'all did :)