This morning’s 10 mile run was AWESOME.
We’ve been doing most of our long runs the past couple weeks on an out-and-back trail, so we decided this week it was time to mix it up. 
We took our run out into the rolling farmland near Chapel Hill and it was wonderful! My girls Elle and Steph had the genius idea to do a point-to-point run (where you start and end in different places), starting in Chapel Hill and ending at Maple View Farm for chocolate milk!
Steph’s boyfriend Brian was nice enough to come pick us up when we were done
The rolling hills were great for training, the weather was beautiful, and I had great company, too.
I was a bit nervous about this morning’s run considering I didn’t do a long run at all last weekend because I was dying, my shorter runs during the week weren’t all that great (3 miles on Tuesday outside and 3 miles Thursday on the treadmill, which meant I walked half of it because I loathe the treadmill), AND my last long run two weeks ago (9 miles) was REALLY rough.
But guess what? Today was great.
I really loved running out in farmland – even though there were a lot of hills, they were rolling and mostly gradual, so it wasn’t that bad. And the beautiful scenery kept us distracted, too!
Unfortunately, Steph wasn’t feeling all that great (she’s got a bad cold) and ended up turning around at the 3 mile mark, so it was me and Elle on our own for most of the run! We had a blast, though – she’s a great running buddy and we maintained a good pace and steady stream of chatter the whole time
We ran the 10 miles in 1 hour and 31 minutes, for an average pace of about 9:10 – sweet!
Splits:
- Mile 1: 9:10 (traffic lights)
- Mile 2: 8:56
- Mile 3: 8:56
- Mile 4: 9:06
- Mile 5: 9:20
- Mile 6: 9:19
- Mile 7: 9:19
- Mile 8: 9:01
- Mile 9: 9:20
- Mile 10: 9:08
Woohoo! I was really pleased that we kept a pretty steady pace the whole time – especially given all the hills! I was also happy we didn’t stop at all – on our other long runs, since they’ve been out and back, we’ve usually stopped and stretched at the turnaround point. I’m definitely not opposed to stopping and stretching, but mentally I needed a long run where I didn’t stop at all since I hopefully won’t be stopping during the half marathon!
We ended our run with a lovely view of the Maple View cows, rocking out in the pasture. So cute!
And then – it was time for chocolate milk!!
Chocolate milk is pretty much the perfect recovery drink after a long, hard workout – it’s the ideal carb to protein ratio and delicious, too. Win/win!
We multitasked by stretching while we enjoyed it
After chocolate milk, it was time for some real food Steph, her boyfriend Brian, Elle, Matt, and I all headed to brunch!
We went to Milltown in Carrboro and I couldn’t decide if I wanted brunch or lunch… so I got both
A grilled cheese, tomato, and avocado sandwich with a side of scrambled eggs:
Plus a little side salad that came with my sandwich. Delish!
What a fantastic day so far – Matt and I are off to run a few errands now, including hitting up the bike shop for some new helmets (mine is circa 1990), etc.! Matt got a new road bike too and we tested them out last night with a spin around our neighborhood. I loved how mine felt – I felt a huge difference in speed vs. my heavy mountain bike! We’re hoping to do a longer ride tomorrow
Hope you’re enjoying your Saturday!
