10 miles (3.11)

I met Kelly to run today. I was on track to be early but then 2/3 of the way there I realized I forgot my garmin. I was going to try to go without it but after a few minutes of driving decided I had to go get it and be late.  I let Kelly know.  I ended up parking at a different lot so she didn't have to wait for me.  I ran about a quarter mile to meet up with her then we ran together.

My goal was 9:30 pace.  Kelly told me her goal was 9 minute pace.  We beat 9 minute pace for the first loop but she felt miserable so I told her my goal was 9:30 so we could go slower to try to hit that and then be less miserable.   That is mostly what we did but it was a 9:17 pace instead of 9:30. 

Since I stopped and talked after she finished her 10, I was well rested and able to run pretty fast to my car. My goal was 8:40 pace. I played bonus seconds during this. 3/4 of the first mile was a solid uphill so 2 of my splits were actually slower than 2:10 but because of the bonus seconds I got on my first split, I never got behind.  My splits were 2:05, 2:12, 2:00, 2:14, and 1:59. The 1:59 was downhill and level. The 2:00 was uphill but after a 2:12 I didn't want to risk losing anymore of my bonus seconds. 

My knee started hurting around the 6th or 7th mile but not that bad at all. Kelly's knee didn't bother her until her 9th mile but then it was even worse pain that mine was. She said hers kept buckling. We are both recovering from similar/the same knee injuries. She is further along in her recovery than I am. 

We stopped a few times for water. It felt so hot. It was so sunny.  When I got back to my car at the end, the thermometer said 66 degrees. This summer is going to kill me.

This was Kelly's longest run in something like 2 years. Pretty impressive.  She's also still getting over being sick.

The park was so incredibly crowded today. I can't remember a time it was ever so crowded. There was a lot of weaving while running. That got annoying; It not only messes up your cadence but I think the weaving makes my knee hurt worse.

It's very weird that I still hit 12 miles this week with a knee injury.  It also feels like I took forever off running but really I only went 4 days without running at all.