9!

Sunday was the Super Bowl, and although the Broncos got their rear ends handed to them (booooo!) my day wasn't too bad. Ben and two friends went to the game which meant I got to head out for a nice, long run and leave Oliver at home before they left for NJ. Miles came, and he slept. Boy did he sleep. For three hours. I'm thinking that's why he didn't sleep too well last night? Maybe that was just a fluke. 

I met up with three friends (two have already signed up for the half) and we headed out to do what was the longest run any of us had done in a while. Probably since our kids were born! The weather was surprisingly nice - about 40 degrees at the start, and not too windy - even down at the beach! 

It was a great route if I do say so! We ran through Old Greenwich which has a fairly wide bike/running path seeing as we aren't supposed to run with strollers on the sidewalk (bike etiquette with wheels I think?). There were so many people who had the same idea as us - out walking their dogs (love the dogs on the beach in winter!), running, biking, or even a few rollerbladers. A group of middle-aged men ran by us and yelled, "nice job! you all look like a biker gang!" Thanks! I think?  

Our route and elevation/pace maps:

Mile breakdown:

DISTANCE	PACE	ELAPSED TIME
1 mi	10:50 min/mi	10:49
2 mi	09:39 min/mi	9:38
3 mi	09:47 min/mi	9:47
4 mi	10:22 min/mi	10:21
5 mi	12:16 min/mi	12:14
6 mi	10:42 min/mi	10:42
7 mi	10:38 min/mi	10:36
8 mi	12:35 min/mi	12:34
9 mi	09:56 min/mi	9:54

At mile 5 we stopped for some blocks as well as snacks/toys/socks that had dropped.  At 8 we paused to discuss the final leg of our route, so I think we would've averaged about 10:00/miles. Not bad for what I dub "stroller pace."  

I tried two Gu Chomps in watermelon - one around mile 5 and one at 7. Despite the green packaging, they're a pretty shade of pinkish red. They were really good and easy to keep down. I let Oliver try one when we got home (as if he needs the energy!) and he loved it! Greeeeeeat!

We all agreed when we got back to the car that it didn't seem like we ran close to nine miles. NINE. When I am lucky enough to head out for a run alone, I enjoy it. But I don't run as far, and I don't learn as much about newly made friends. When I run alone, I download some Pitbull, Shakira and David Guetta and tune out the rest of the world. When I run with friends, I listen to myself more. I find that runners high sooner and don't push myself so hard that I can't rock my baby to sleep every hour when/if he needs it. The "talk test" was key, and kept me focused on my breathing. My nine miles allowed me to relax, destress, and approach the rest of the day more positively. Which, yesterday, was completely necessary as a Broncos fan. 

Bottom line:

Scale back run Sunday - hooray!