back in the groove

So last night a great friend of mine offered to watch the kids while I ran. We met at Starbucks at 5:30 and headed up to Millerton Lake. Chandra (my team mate) and I went with our coaches in their car. We were suppossed to start running right at 6 but the gates weren't open yet so we had to wait out on the main road til they opened. We finally got in, stretched a bit and started our run. The first half was on road but then we hit the trails. Talk about a work out. Trying to not run in the crevaces on this narrow dirt trail was certainly a challenege. Lots of twists and turns and hills. Before I even hit the trails my thighs were starting to burn but I just had to keep going, every step hitting to the beat of my music, trying to maintain the same pace through the workout. It was do-able. I reached the half way point for the half marathoners, had my gatorade and headed back towards our starting area. It was then that I passed my coaches as they were running in with part of the group. One of them turned back and came running with me. She was telling me I'm such a strong runner (since I was leading the half marathon group by a good distance) that I should switch to full marathon. That would be great, but without enough practice time I just don't want to put my body through that. So she suggested I just run with the level 1 marathon runners for practice. So I guess next time I'm out, that's exactly what I'll be doing. After not running for so many years, it's nice ot have someone tell me I'm doing a good job. I really thought that when I started this I would be running with experienced runners and I would look like a joke. I was so self-conscious and was hoping to just meet a few new people. Luckily even the experienced runners don't make you feel like the bottom of the pit. Everyone is awesome and I am so glad to be part of TEAM IN TRAINING!!!