Testing . . . 10 miles . . . testing.

My Christmas Eve 10-miler wasn't just a fun little run with friends. It was also a test. I wanted to see how my knee/hammie/calf would hold up while running what will be the midpoint of my long run pace when marathon training begins (next week!).

There were 7 of us who set out in the 18 degree weather Saturday morning. Days before the run, I let the group know that I was looking to run the 10 miles at a 9:30 pace and, fortunately, Melissa said she'd be happy to run with me. The group started together and we went through the first mile in about 10 minutes. Toward the end of that mile, Melissa and I found our groove and we ended up running together -- just the two of us -- for the rest of the way.

Melissa was a great partner! We chatted about tons of stuff and just seemed to fall easily into a good rhythm. I looked at my watch for the first time around 5.5 miles and quickly did some math that reassured me that we were running at the right pace. Although we may have been running the right pace, apparently, I wasn't running the right route.

When we were around 8.5 miles into the run, I noticed that something was wrong. We were probably a half mile away from where we had started, which was also the end of the run. Yup, I had made a wrong turn and figured I was probably meant to go straight at the last turn. So, we doubled back and looped around and ended up finishing the run with 10.10 miles covered.

And . . . we didn't even walk up the last hill, which, is one steeeeeeep, tough hill. Especially because we hit it at about 9.75 miles into our frigid run. We powered through, plenty happy once we hit the top, even happier when we hit the slight downhill that led us to the parking lot and end of our run.

After the run, Melissa and I walked to cool down, which ended up making us freeze so we huddled in my car and waited for the others, who all had great runs, too!

All in all, even though (or maybe because?) it was so cold, it was a super run. Our pace? 9:36 for the 10.10 miles. I wanted 9:30 and pretty much got it. The best part is that my leg felt (more or less) fine the whole way and the pace felt very, very comfortable. Just what you want for your long run, right?

Yeah. Test, passed.

Today, my almost 5 mile run was a different story. Sluggish. But, you know, it's the day after Christmas and I certainly indulged in the Christmas goodies. So, a sluggish run? No big deal. It happens.

I'm a little less thrilled that my knee/hammie/calf hurt a little while I was out there today, but the pain was never awful so I'm not going to get too worried. At least not yet.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

~ Felice