Keepin' it classy

So, after Tuesday's dismal attempt at speed work, it became clear to me that I need to start training with the Spot group again. Also, I had promised Tisha I would go, which was about the only thing motivating me to get out of bed at 6:45 am on a Saturday. Ha! Of course I was late getting out the door and had to run up the hill but whatever - good warmup, right?

Almost all of my old crew was there this morning - awesome! As my friend Kent put it, everything was right with the world (or as right as it can be before an 11 mile run at 7 am...). I was worried I wasn't going to be able to keep up with everyone since I've been running slow lately and I swear, half of my pals have qualified for Boston and the other half probably will this Fall. Fast, these folks are.

But, either I was having a good day or everyone else was having a bad day because I had running buddies through the first 5.5 miles! We were cooking through Eden Park, until someone pointed out that we had to run UP the hill on the way back. Ha, ha, nothing wrong with a positive split I guess. It was really humid this morning and I didn't have my water bottle...I was super dehydrated by the time we hit the 5 mile water stop and had to take a nature break at 5.5, which meant I lost all my buddies. :-(

I knew the route though, or so I thought, and I was trying to run faster so I could catch up with someone to entertain me up Gilbert. I kept looking, and looking, then I started to wonder "how long was i in the freakin' bathroom???". FINALLY I caught Megan on Gilbert but she had come from another direction. Ooops, I went the wrong way coming out of downtown. It didn't matter though because all the marathoners were doing 13, so I lost her anyway in Eden Park. I did get to run with the elites for about .25 miles, since they had already done the add-on and were back on the same route as me.

I finished with 11.34 miles thanks to my detour but get this - my time was 1:36. Ha! That's an 8:31 pace!!! I was barely running that the other night on flat ground for 5 miles. Woot. Apparently running with the group really does make me run faster. It is almost like a mini race.

The best part of the morning was after the run. My friends have started a tailgate group post run, so someone brings beer every week. Todd brought quite the assortment - Bell's, Guinness, Great Lakes, Corona. Of course I had a Guiness - recovery drink! We all sat around the parking lot in O'Bryonville, at 10 am, drinking beer and making fun of each other. Super classy! Robert, one of our coaches and a fellow Nashville road tripper, taught us a valuable lesson as well...that you should never pay for drugs, sex, or office supplies. I don't even know how this topic came up. :-) Man, I've missed these people. Running and drinking before noon on a Saturday, what could be better??? Then I managed to score a free breakfast with my friend Cole who lives up the street and has a real kitchen. I'm fat, happy, and stupid. Time for a shower and a nap.