Running adventures

Guess who has run a total of 9 miles over the past two days?  This girl!  I ran 4 yesterday on my lunch break and 5 miles today.  I'm pleasantly surprised that running on consecutive days has not been nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  I did struggle quite a bit through today's run and I am really, really looking forward to a rest day tomorrow.

Yesterday's run was a little cold, but I was pretty pleased with my average pace.  I guess I was running faster to get warm and get back to my car quickly.  I did 4 miles in 50:28 with an average pace of 12:36.  Today's run was really windy, but warmer.  The wind made the 2nd mile really tough and honestly, if it hadn't been for my friend, Mary, running with me, I probably would have stopped.  (Note to self:  do not run into the wind anymore. It isn't fun.)  We ended up exploring a new part of the path we've been running and came across a really neat bridge, so we, of course, needed a photo op.

About the halfway point of our 5 miler

#StrikeAPose

Despite feeling somewhat sluggish today, I did 5 miles in 1:02:06 with an average pace of 12:25, which is a nice improvement from yesterday.  Mile 3 was actually a 12:08 mile, which is great.  I'm a little nervous about being able to maintain that pace for the half though; I was really, really slugging through miles 4 and 5. Or at least it felt like it to me.

I experienced a weird fluke with MapMyRun yesterday and today and I am wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences.  Mary and I ran side-by-side for all 4 miles yesterday and for 4 of the 5 miles today, but my notifications were about .3 of a mile off from hers.  We didn't start our workout at the exact same moment, so I expected some fluctuation, but certainly not nearly a minute difference.  I don't know if it might be because my phone is an older model or if our leg strides are different, but it was really weird and slightly frustrating.  I wanted to stop so badly when Mary's chimed 5 miles, but I also have this quirk about making my own workout read 5.0 miles, so I kept running for a few minutes.  Has anyone else experienced something similar when running with friends?  

My 5 mile run on Sunday was really fantastic; I felt great and I wasn't glancing at my phone near the end to see when I would finish.  It was odd then to follow that great run with two pretty difficult runs yesterday and today.  The trail we ran for the past two days has more elevation changes (I wouldn't call them hills, but it is definitely not a flat path) than my normal path, so I figure that might be a factor, but adding in some elevation will be good for my training overall.  I will likely do my 6 mile run on the flat path this weekend, though.  I could use a feel-good run this weekend to boost my confidence!  I know I will have good run days and bad run days, but I'd like to add a good one in this week.

It has been a rough week personally for me, so I found this quote to be so fitting.  While today's run was a struggle, it certainly helped clear my mind and distract me for an hour!

"A good laugh and a long run are the two best cures for anything."