It's Been Too Long

I had not run with my running club on a Sunday morning run since before the Chicago Marathon - over a month and a half ago.  It had been way too long.  I've missed seeing my friends running on the trail. 

Why did I not go for 6+ weeks?  Sleep.  Although marathon training runs started at 6:30, and post-marathon Sunday runs start at 8, I still could not mange to get out of bed.  I live 30 minutes from where we meet, which means if I don't drag myself out of bed by 7 AM I won't make it.  Today I was determined to make it.  I wanted to get in a quality run with my fellow club members. 

I wasn't sure how far I wanted to run, or even what pace.  When we set out, I thought 6 sounded good.  8:30 pace felt good.  Then, I got talked into running 10 miles at a progressive pace, having our average be 8:15 at the end, with a mile or two under 8:00/mile pace. 

The run seemed hard to me, but I think that is beacuse I'm not used to running in the morning.  I do 95% of my runs in the mid or late afternoon/early evening and 8 AM is far different.  But, I am so glad I got to run with the group.  It was not the group I trained with for Chicago, and I didn't know a few of the guys, but it was a good time none the less. 

Could I have started my Sunday any better?  I don't think so.