Saturday we ran 7 miles around the neighborhood. Other than last week’s 9.45 mile run, this was my second longest run ever. 7 miles is about a quarter-marathon. Half of a half-marathon. Longer than a 10K by almost a mile. No matter how many ways I think about it, it was a good run. I walked a bit, mostly caught up in the congestion that accompanies most people during this time of the year. I ran most, however, and it actually felt pretty good. We ran at almost exactly an 11 minute pace, a pace that I would die for during the half. Lots of hills (relatively), and lots of congestion. I used another PowerBar Gel to get through the distance. That bowl of instant oatmeal 90 minutes before I start is just not enough to last the morning! Fortunately, my good friend and church wife Heather suggested that we hit Melito’s Restaurant before heading home. Great food that filled my belly! For some historical precedence, Mr. Melito designed the Freedom Flag after September 11th, and 3rd place American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin used to work at Melitos since he lived around the corner!

We all made it through even though all 7 miles, I was the last to finish. I was last because I was meticulous about the full 7 miles. According to my Garmin 205, I had to take an extra lap around the parking lot to get in the full 7 miles. The funny thing is that I saw a friend from church pulling into the parking lot at 6.8 miles and we joked about it the next day. Boy was she surprised when she found out that it was at the end of 7 miles! I must be fat enough to look like I run maybe 2 miles at most ;-). I suppose it’s finally time to lose some weight!

This week, we continue the longer mid week runs (3, 5, 3 weekly runs). We’re all concerned on January 23rd when we get to running a full 10K on a Wednesday as a mid-week run. This will be hard since the weather by the end of January is very cold in Richmond! That week, we are replacing our long Saturday run with a Sunday 15K race (9.3 miles). The race conditions over such a distance will be good, and we will have SAG breaks along the race for a change. I will love not having to carry water or pre-mixed Accelerade for a change!

This week, 10 miles is scheduled for our Saturday run. It might be an interesting run since we will need to carry all water and snacks with us! All I can say is to hope for cooler weather than today, but warm enough that I don’t have lots of clothes to weigh me down!