Best Friends and Lucky #7

This weekend I got to hang out with one of my best friends Mel! She lives in DC, and since we've both been super busy lately, we don't get to see each other as much as we'd like. She's running her FIRST MARATHON on March 16th, but since I'm running the NYC Half on March 17th, I won't be able to cheer her on during the race. So this weekend was a great opportunity to catch up before her big day!

Our first half-marathon! Mel, Em, and Me before it started pouring BUCKETS

She's actually the one who convinced me to run my first 1/2 marathon! We did Team In Training (seriously, the BEST program ever) and ran the ZOOMA Annapolis 1/2 marathon with our friend Em in 2009. Every Saturday for 16 or so weeks we'd meet our team to run then celebrate our new furthest distance (which was very early on!!) with bagels. Such a nice little Saturday morning ;) I do all of my runs solo now, and I realized how much I missed going out with someone on our run together on Saturday.

How I wish I could be there for her 1st marathon!

We went out to the same trail that we did most of our TNT runs on- it was the same trail that we both tackled 10 miles for the same time. I remember thinking double digits was so daunting, and to make things worse, that run in 2009 was rainy. But on Saturday it was bright and cold, and both of us were more than comfortable with the distance (duh, she's in marathon shape!). It's an out and back trail, and I had forgotten that the path was slightly uphill for the 1st five miles- I was dying! But we were rewarded for the back five since it was slightly downhill! My splits reflect the change:

Miles 1-5: Elevation Gain; Miles 6-10: Elevation Loss

Hello, 7! Haven't seen you in front of a mile since high school! When I looked down and saw a decent pace for mile 6, I decided to push myself and see what I could do for the last few miles. I challenged myself to make each mile faster, but was shocked I could actually hold on for five miles. It's really amazing when you step outside of your comfort zone and try to push yourself- I had no idea a mile with a 7 in front was even achievable! And I'm sure the downhill didn't hurt one bit ;)

And now I'm lacking motivation. I blame my new Downton Abbey addiction and a late night for not getting my act together to run this morning. I will make it to the gym tonight for a speed session! I will! It would just be so much easier with a running buddy! Sadly, not many of my friends in NYC are runners... anyone looking for a new running partner?? We can get bagels after our run! :)