7-mile group run

so, I had delusions that I would finally do a Mud Run this year, especially since I am actually trained for the distance this time. But, as usual, I procrastinated, so when I finally got around to looking at the website (Friday night), the online registration was closed, and they said there was no race-day packet pickup. So, I had to settle for the 7-mile run with my training group.

My pace leader was actually out yesterday morning since SHE was doing the mud run, but she left us in the capable legs of another pacer. Actually, they had decided to pace together before we got started, but we just hadn't met Nikki yet. We went out a slightly different route than we had done the last few weeks, so it was a little change of scenery. Still had the killer hill at the end, only this time, we saw the downhill part of it since the sun was rising on our way out and we could tell how steep it was while we were going down. All in all, it was a really nice run, even though we were booking it a little faster than we expected. We ended up covering the 7 miles in 1:15:05, for an average pace of about 10:44, so it's a little faster than the 11:00 we signed up for. If not for the hill, we probably would have come in about 10:30 -- I'm not quite strong enough to run all the way up to the top. I did go further this week than last week, which is my only goal each week as far as that hill is concerned. I'm figuring that by the end of December I'll be running up that hill like nothing.

So, that's all there is to tell about the running. I will be in Boulder through at least the week or two before Christmas, which is GREAT news for my training -- I can tell that every mile that I'm up there helps my performance while I'm here. And, professionally, it will definitely be a coup of I can make myself useful enough to be extended longer. We're still trying to figure out if we can swing getting the family up to Colorado for a winter holiday, but we're not sure yet. Certainly something to plan for, if we can make it happen. Anyhow, that's for another day -- for now, I've got a few loads of laundry to finish out and then some packing before my flight tomorrow. Cheerio!