We had the option of running Riley's Rumble half-marathon on the 25th, or not. A lot of us chose not to after lots of emails from the group coaches suggesting we skip it. It's a hilly, hard, miserable race and the 95 degree heat was going to make it even less pleasant. By Saturday afternoon I'd talked myself out of doing it so Bo and I agreed to meet some running buddies down at the Capital Crescent Trail at 6AM on Sunday. He planned for 5, I was hoping for 12.
We met up as planned and Bo decided that he could probably swing six miles so we headed south three miles to the first water fountain. At this point we had two options - Hengameh and I could keep going another three or turn around and go back to the parking lot with Bo then head north. After a brief discussion and excessive use of puppy-dog eyes we headed back with Bo. We stopped at the benches by the parking lot for some water and a brief rest since neither of my partners were particularly keen to keep going any direction. Our 12 miles turned into a compromised 8, just one more mile north. It made for Bo's longest run ever and he kicked its ass. Close to the end, approaching the tunnel, I had a sudden burst of energy and just took off. I don't know how fast I was going or how far but I felt awesome. One of those increasingly rare "YES, THIS IS WHY I RUN!" moments. I felt light, and fast, and surprised that despite my speed I wasn't really huffing and puffing or struggling. Of course I don't know how long I could have kept it up but I felt damn good for that short period of time. So good that I feel like I wussed out by not doing 12 or 13, I definitely had the energy for another 5 miles at that point. But maybe those extra miles would have ruined that energy and it's a good thing I stopped on a positive mental note instead of hating life.
Maybe that's the runner's high I've heard so much about. I need more of that!
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