Sunny Summer Sunday!

Ahhh, finally - a run that makes me feel like I have accomplished something. I hadn't done any runs over 10 miles since the Tacoma City Marathon and I was starting to dread the thought of the first one. Well, this morning I joined the members of my running group on their preview of the Grande Ass Marathon that is fast approaching. We had decided at last week Sunday's post-run coffee to run the first 11.5 miles of the 'Grande". I woke at 6:30 to my alarm - yes, my alarm - and promptly hit the snooze - twice, no, thrice! Although the sun was shining, I could feel the chill in the air from our open bedroom window. These last three mornings have felt like fall to me and this one seemed to be no different. By the time I got up and had my toast and coffee however, the air outside had warmed and it again felt like summer! I arrived at the agreed-upon meeting spot, "our Starbucks" and and saw Margaret G. and Marco already in the parking lot and Jessica pulling into a space. We all chatted for awhile and awaited the arrival of our fearless leader for this run, George. We also knew that Tom, who had started 5 miles earlier would be arriving at any moment too. Patch ran into view soon after Tom.

It was 8am, and all were ready to go. We started out together but soon broke into three pace groups with me and Margaret comprising the middle group. At Wildwood Park Margaret stopped to use the bathroom and I continued on knowing she'd catch up eventually. Plus, I hadn't taken one of the maps that George had printed for everyone and I didn't want to let the lead group get out of my sight. At the top of the hill that drops sharply to the valley, there was a left-hand turn and just as I was coming around the corner I spotted a deer - quietly watching my progress. It was a young doe. She startled me enough that I said, "oh" - surprising myself more than her. The lead group was walking at this point and after another 5 minutes of running on my part, I caught them. We continued running together through neighborhoods and then down toward the bulb farm. At this point the leaders again started to pull away from me but George hung back and on the road to the side of the bulb farm we walked until Margaret caught up. The three of us continued across the river and through the neighborhoods of Sumner to our first stop - Starbucks.

Once we arrived we talked with the others, filled water bottles, and used the bathroom before heading out once again. We high-fived Jessica, who would complete her planned run at Starbucks and said hello to Patch - who would continue on. On the path near the river I felt like walking but George and Margaret held the pace and I just kept on running too. At mile 11.5 we arrived at the next Starbucks on the course - and the end of our run. Well, sort of. Margaret and I decided to run back to the original Starbucks - 4 miles away - and George decided to join us. After drinks and talk, we started again. The first mile and half was through Puyallup and thereby flat, but then we approached the infamous Meridian hill. We attacked that hill valiantly but ended up walking about half of it. At one point Margaret started to run again, and George and I followed her lead, but then the hill steepened and we walked again. Another mile after we reached the top and we were back to our starting point. Fifteen and a half miles! Yes! A nice start to prepping for the Grande Ass Marathon the end of next month. I feel like I'm baaaack!