7 miles with Team Tiara

Yes, you read that right. Gerri is training for the Spinx Half with Team Tiara. They meet three times a week for group runs and Saturdays is their long run day. She has asked me to come run with them a few times, and I usually respond by rolling over and going back to sleep. Not today.

The alarm went off about 5:00am. For a brief moment I debated taking a pass to enjoy a few additional hours of sleep, but the internal voice let me know that this was something I needed to do. We got up, ready and headed to downtown Greenville. A quick stop along the way to drop off some water for the group. We met the group of around 6:00 and got started. Two runners were doing 9, the rest 7 and since I was only planning on an easy 5, I let everyone else go ahead so that I wouldn't be tempted to go faster than I should.

I caught up with the group within a few minutes when they stopped to wait for another team member that pulled up in her car late. The air was cool, humidity wasn't bad and the pace was comfortable. I stayed in the back and eventually a few of the women dropped back and joined me. Conversation flowed and I really enjoyed the course and the chance to run with a group. I was amazed at how many other groups are running around Greenville around the same time.

As we headed back up Main Street, I was a bit disappointed that 5 miles was coming to an end. Kim was hurting a bit, and decided to stop at 5 miles. I didn't want Nadia to have to run the last 2 miles by herself, so I decided to keep her company. The pace was slow, but I enjoyed the route and the opportunity to help her achieve her longest distance ever. We finished with about 7.4 miles and around a 12 minute pace. The pace is nothing to write home about, but I'm thrilled to have my longest run in since the marathon in May.

Afterwards we walked down to Starbucks and had a very yummy Banana Chocolate Vivanno.

Donations to Gerri's fundraising effort to support Girl's on the Run are greatly appreciated.