Going Long

Since injuries had disrupted my training for a half marathon in mid-September, I had to do a couple of long runs and leave it at that.  Three weeks before the race I ran 10 miles with Lia on a weekend, then two weeks out I ran eleven miles in two hours and ten minutes with her, truly the definition of a long slow run.  (Happy to have my ten-mile long run in the bank.)

As I have stated before, our goal was 1:59:59 for the half.  I had noticed that Lia was definitely profiting from her training and I started to tell people that she was going to beat me.  (My running buddy took her running to a higher level than mine.)

During our weekday runs, Lia would surge on all hills we ran up and I wouldn't be able to keep up.  She also did a weekend 10-miler at which she reported averaging under nine-minute miles.  (Our taper run through DC under a turbulent sky.)

This was a tremendous step forward for a previously plodding runner who was now starting to come into her own as an athlete.  After a taper run of seven miles one week out, and a race-pace three-miler two days beforehand, race day arrived and we met at a pre-arranged spot and proceeded to the start line, full of confidence but also trepidation now that the completion of our journey, the denouement, actually was at hand.  (Dawn on race day.)