15 Miles

This morning I ran the longest run of my training cycle so far - 15 miles and it was great! 

After weeks of beautiful weather we had a cold snap here aka normal upstate New York February weather.   It was cold and windy, probably around 10 degrees or so.  I had met the Happy Runner at a bike path at 8 am to run.  I had to do 15 and she was doing 17.  Other than the wind seeming to hit us head on in both directions the run a perfect long run.  At one point Felice said she needed to gel at mile 9 which was coming up in a second and I was surprised because I didn't even think we were at mile 8 yet.  I love when that happens.  The miles flew by and I felt strong.  Before I knew it we were back at the cars and my 15 was done! And my pace had been 9:35! Not bad! I was even tempted to continue on with her but worried that I might regret upping my mileage that much already.  Better to end feeling strong.

Running with Felice was great.  She is a very positive person and we discussed our goals for the NJ Marathon and after talking with her I really feel like 4 hours or 3:59:59 is possible.  I'm really happy with my training so far.  I've finished all of my long runs feeling strong like I had more in me.  In previous training cycles I feel like my long runs were torture.   It's a good feeling and I'm actually looking forward to my next long run!