Good morning from Miami! 🙂
I set a new record yesterday morning for longest distance ever run in the super early a.m. before work or school! 7 miles done before it was even 8 a.m. — BAM.
Elle and I had 7 miles on the docket this weekend for our Tobacco Road Half Marathon training, but both of us had plans to be out of town. Elle emailed me earlier this week asking if I was crazy enough to run 7 miles with her at 6 a.m. on Thursday… and for some reason I agreed. 🙂 I figured I’d rather do the 7 miles early so I could enjoy shorter, no pressure runs this weekend in Miami with Matt instead!
Elle and I met up at 6:15 a.m. yesterday morning and were on our way! I was actually kind of excited — it felt bada$$ to be running 7 miles before most people were even out of bed.
We started our run in the dark (on well lit streets), running all through Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and even onto a trial once the sun came up to play.
It was a lovely morning for a run and unlike the past couple longer runs I’ve done, I felt great! We were both chatting away and enjoying ourselves the whole time.
You can tell how good we felt from our negative splits (e.g. we got faster as we went)! The first mile was a massive hill, so it was a bit slower, but from then on we were moving.
Splits:
- Mile 1: 9:58
- Mile 2: 9:13
- Mile 3: 8:50
- Mile 4: 9:01
- Mile 5: 8:51
- Mile 6: 8:31
- Mile 7: 8:29
Total distance: 7 miles. Total time: 1:02:56. Average pace: 8:59!
I just have to say: the runner’s high is for real, friends. These pictures are proof. Elle and I felt so great after our run we spent some time playing on the swings. At 7:30 a.m. No big deal. 🙂
Such a great way to start the day!
Oh, and speaking of running — I have some exciting news to share! In May, I’ll be participating in Reach the Beach, which is an overnight 24-hour 200 mile running relay! It sounds absurd and I couldn’t be more excited.
The best part about the relay, though, is my teammates. There are 12 of us, including many of my good blogger buddies (and soon-to-be good blogger buddies, I’m sure, after spending 24 hours in a van together)!
Check out this cute collage of us all that one of my teammates, Elizabeth, created!
The Cast of Characters:
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- Me! Picture from after my Vegas Half Marathon 🙂
- Sarah of Sarah Fit
- Patricia of Run Foodie Run
- Tina of Carrots ‘N Cake
- Ashley of A Healthy, Happier Bear
- Bridget of Yogurt and Berries
- Elizabeth of On Tap for Today
- Theodora of Losing Weight in the City
- Gretchen of Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen!
- Monica of Run Eat Repeat
- Ali of Food Fitness Fashion
- Melissa of Fitness NYC
Our team is also lucky because we have a great sponsor — New Balance! We named our team “Off Balance” in their honor. 😉
Reach the Beach has two relay options: one in Massachusetts and one in New Hampshire. Our team will be participating in the Massachusetts relay, which begins in Wachusett and ends in Westport. As I mentioned, the relay will cover 200 miles over the course of 24 hours, and each of us will run 3 legs of the race, ranging from as short as 2.8 miles to as long as 8.3 miles. I’ve never done a relay race before but have always wanted to. In addition to being a great challenge, I also think it will be a blast. 🙂
Interested in creating a team to run the relay yourself? Check out their website because registration is filling up fast! For a team of 12 runners the entry fee works out to a little over $100 each. You can also run the race for free if you register as a fundraising team for a charity. 🙂
So — advice, please! Have any of you run an overnight relay race before? Any tips for training and/or survival? Should I do multiple runs a day to practice? Or will I be fine doing the race with my normal training?
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Matt and I just had breakfast here in Miami — it’s a beautiful day and should be in the 80’s and sunny! He unfortunately has to work most of the day, so I’m also going to get some work done and then head out to do a little exploring on my own in a bit. Any recommendations for good places to walk around/eat lunch in downtown Miami? 🙂
