Ladies Run at McAlpine

4.5 mile w/u
Target: ~30 mins. of Caitlin's tempo
Actual: 5 miles (6:17, 6:13, 5:58, 6:07, 6:09)
2.5 mile c/d
Total: 12 miles

Earlier this week Caitlin and I responded to an email Aaron sent out trying to rally a group of speedy girls for a fun run at McAlpine. We agreed to meet at 9am, starting at Main Entrance (Caitlin) and Old Bell (me) and running toward each other, and we very beneficently opened up the invitation to a few select guys as well. That said, we had no idea that over 20+ people would rally on a cold Saturday morning and join us. It was quite an inspiring sight to see the formidable size of the Main Entrance group running toward us just before the mile marker, and as per usual made me proud to be a member of CRC. I don't think I've ever run with Caitlin, Alice, Kelly, Megan and Danielle all at the same time, not to mention the throng of others who joined us. Pretty sweet.

After a few miles of easy running and lighthearted conversation, Caitlin's plan was to peel away for a 50-minute marathon pace tempo. Though my legs and, particularly, my left Achilles were a bit fatigued from Wednesday's monster workout, I figured I was game for at least 30 minutes. After assembling a male entourage of Lat, Jordan, John, Ben, Thomas, AJ and one new guy (David?), we set off.

Overall the run went fine, as you can read in Caitlin's blog. Though we didn't chat the entire time, I found the pace to be perfectly conversational whenever I did have something to say. Aerobically this was a walk in the park, but as I approached the fifth mile I could tell my legs were more tired than I thought, and that my Achilles was tightening up at an alarming rate. By this point John and Jordan were long gone and Lat was also pulling away, and I could see that unfortunately Caitlin would get caught in no man's land once I stopped. For that reason I would've liked to continue, but pulling the plug at five was definitely the right call for me. Thomas and NGD (new guy David) followed suit, which meant that I had some company on my cool down jog back to Old Bell. I'm going to have to closely monitor my Achilles over the next few days, as now is certainly not the time to face an incipient injury.