I was planning on doing a 6 mile taper run this morning, but everyone in the running group was doing 8 miles. Yes, I caved into peer pressure. My goal was to keep right at 11:17 per mile to follow the training plan. The group decided to take a different route this weekend, so I while appreciated the change of scenery, I wasn’t quite familiar with the mileage.

At mile 3.25, my hip started fussing, so I told myself that I would turn at the the next road. I saw our run leader and the speedsters coming up, so I continued to run towards my predetermined goal. When I hit the road, I saw that I’d already traveled 3.75 miles, so I decided to push it just a little further (for 4) before the turn around.

Once I hit the turnaround, the sun was coming up, so I snapped a picture of the sky changing colors. I hit a pretty good stride and ‘flew’ a little bit on the way back. My right hip was still bugging me a little bit and I started to feel pain in my left foot and shin. After awhile, the problem areas quieted down and I finished my run pretty strong.

I’m ready and excited for Saturday’s race.