Run #74 Crazy Eights

Date/Time: 8/8/8 at 10:00am
Place: Lakefront, starting from my old meeting place when I ran with Chicago Endurance Sports, right from the statue of Ben Franklin. Mid to upper 70's by the time I finished.
Mileage: 8
Time it Took: 1:40:04
Pace: 12:31
Miles this week: 8
Miles this month: 13
2008 Goal: 436.09/1000 miles

Thoughts/Comments: So I get out there on the path, I'm feeling fantastic, my mind is just right, only thinking about today's run and nothing else. Following the advice of an article I recently read about coming back from injury, I walked after each mile. Just one minute. My goal was to run 7 to 8 miles, but once I got started I realized that it's 8-8-8, so how could I NOT run 8 miles? BTW, happy birthday to one of my best friends, RABIYA!.

So I'm running out there on my old stomping ground, and it was like an old friend greeting me "So good to have you back, you've been gone to long!" Flashbacks from last year's group training runs, like the first run when I wore a cotton t-shirt, or when we came around the bend and happened upon the 11:00 pace group giving cpr to "Sam" who'd had a heart attack, or the 16-mile run when we dodged raindrops, ginormous puddles, and branches still left behind from the storms earlier that week. What about that 18-miler during my spring marathon training when I stopped at St. Joe's Hospital after running out of gatorade...stocking up on pretzels and lemonade. Aaah the memories!

At the turnaround point, I stopped ye olde Garmin and went to the bathroom, stretched, had a gu and chugged some water.

During the return trip my legs were a bit tired. This was my longest run since MID-JUNE. A few thoughts tried to creep in, thinking too far ahead in the future.

But by the end of the run, I felt 100% fantastic about meeting my goal for TODAY. I won't be running in this weekend's Chicago Distance Classic half marathon, but I should be on track for the half marathon at the end of the month that I'm registered for as well. I"m headed off to the health and fitness expo in awhile to pick up my packet, even though I'm not running. There's always some cool vendors.