my favorite long run

got a call earlier this week from my former running pal kt saying she'd be in town this weekend for a long run. before she moved we were logging consistent 40mi/week with excellent long runs on saturdays. we were basically the perfect running partners.

anyway so we met at furman university early this morning to get in 15miles. running at furman is by far my favorite long-run route. it's scenic with rolling hills and the occaisional rooster crowing. there's not much traffic, and the traffic that does come by is fairly accustomed to runners and bicyclists on the weekends. the whole route is paved roads, with a few stretches of sidewalk, and while there isn't always a shoulder, the drivers are cautions enough to avoid hitting you. we are also extra safe and slow down/stop and jump into the grass.

unfortunately kt had some not-so awesome stomach aches going on so we cut it short and only got in 12 miles at about a 9:00 pace. i felt good enough to do 15, but i am just getting back to running 40mpw and i certainly don't want to start getting any aches and pains right at the start of my goofy challenge training.

here's a snapshot of the 12mi loop we ran this morning.