Windy Saturday in Boston!

I am so saddened for Paris and my heart goes out to the innocent lives that have been lost for no reason.

Despite the heartbreaking news overseas, I hope your weekend has been a good one so far! Mine started off with some much needed time with friends. Pizza, wine, blasting Adele’s “Hello”, and chocolate cake were all involved. My Boston girlfriends and I gather at least once a month for “wine night”, but this time we let the guys join. We didn’t mind it too much. :)

Boston was the windy city today (Sorry, Chicago), but I felt prepared for the cold during my 14 miler this morning. Long sleeve, long pants, vest, and gloves were all essential. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to layer up so much for a run! It felt nice.

My runner friend (she is an incredible ultra-marathoner, but is between training cycles) joined me for the first half of the run. Was great to catch up, as always, and the first half flew by! We ran along the Charles, and managed to stay on the ground even though the winds were gusting up to 25 mph.

Given the conditions, my coaches wanted me to run “by feel” rather than time, and that’s exactly what I did. I averaged about 9 minute miles in this long run. My coaches also wanted me to test out my fueling during this run, and I took down a chocolate GU at 8 miles. I felt strong the rest of the run so didn’t feel the need to take a second GU. I think I will try the honey chews soon- I’d like to experiment with a few different fueling regimens the next time around.

The run was followed by lunch at Whole Foods, hot shower and tons of stretching. Will most likely veg out to Friday Night lights and maybe a Star Wars movie to prep for the new one that is coming out next month. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!

Windy, cold day in Boston. #winteriscoming

Any races/runs for you today or tomorrow?