The longest run in years...

This is a picture of our team's mission vest. The ribbons have the names of individuals in whose honor or memory we are participating. I wrote my grandmother's name on a ribbon, and will add more names as I adopt them from my donors.  At each team workout someone tells a personal story about an individual they are running in honor of.  Donna told her story today about the only time she saw her father cry; he was a physician who researched treatments for pediatric patients diagnosed with blood cancer. Donna never knew the child that he cried for, but she is sure it was a patient her father was heartbroken he could not save.  She asked us to help her figure out how to honor this nameless child, and we unanimously agreed she should write her father's name on the mission vest.

Today's team workout was a long, easy run.  We started at OMSI and ran on the springwater corridor; the level three run was 60-65 minutes.  In order to stay in an aerobic zone, Glen gave us a talking assignment.  We had to find at least one partner who runs a similar pace, and we had to know something new about them by the end of the run.  Craig, Glen and I ran a total of about 7.2 miles ( that means we ran at a 8:25 min/mile pace!) and learned quite a number of things about each other.  I learned that Glen already has his four year old triplets in a triathlon training program (ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but for those of you who know him....you aren't that surprised, are you?).  And I learned that Craig's son once choked on a piece of gum while on a plane during some turbulence, but fortunately Craig's partner Jim whacked him hard on the back and the gum went flying across the aisle...scary!

I felt great today during the run...I could talk the whole way and was not out of breath at all during the workout.  The thing that I am noticing is that the aerobic base building is working! And the work we are doing in the pool and on the bike is having an amazing effect on my running; that is definitely something I have never experienced before and its really cool.  I guess this is what everyone says about the benefits of cross-training.  I was pretty tight later in the day, but two baths with Himalayan Sea Salt did the trick!