This was the longest week yet, both in terms of the distances and in terms of recovery. Monday was a 3 1/2 mile day, all on the treadmill. Even I will admit that this is boring… Good thing I have my music! Wednesday, I needed to run 4 1/2 miles — and I had to do it before the team ran due to evening commitments. So, at close to 5:00 PM, I took off by myself. That is a really long distance to run yourself. No music (too much of a distraction) and no one to talk to. So, it was a tough 4.5 miles… But, I completed the distance and surprised even myself. There were a few periods of walking but never less than a minute and never more than two.

Saturday, we took off in a very mild day to run five miles. The distance seemed much longer than the previous week’s four miles, but with the same hills. Other than stopping to get water about 1/2 way, I ran the entire thing. I cannot drink and run at the same time. My time was not accurately recorded, but was very respectable. I had a great deal of difficulty climbing the final hill so made a deal with a fellow runner that I wouldn’t stop unless she did and she made the same deal with me. So, we kept going and going (lumbering along?) without stopping. All in all, I was very pleased with the effort put out to run the entire distance!

Next week is a simple 3 miles on Monday and we return to four on Wednesday. I will run Monday on the treadmill but will try to hit the pavement on Wednesday with the group. They push me to finish non-stop and it’s the same four miles I have run with them previously.