Sunday morning run

Oh boy, that was a cold, but beautiful run in the sun this morning. The Harriers meet on Sundays in Central Park for a long run of at least 8 miles and depending on your speed and upcoming races you basically decide how far and how long you go. I did a decent 11-12 miles including my to and from meeting point miles. My legs got a little more fatigued than usual after an hour, I guess Miami didn't leave my legs yet, however, I'm happy I got my mileage in and my coffee and oatmeal tasted divine once I got home. we ran through the northern hills and mostly on trails where I don't run often so it's a nice change of scenery!
Once I got home I declared to my roommate (and close friend) that I was running for almost 2 hours, but she's not really a runner and doesn't really care or understand how much I love to run, trying to become faster and stronger and especially enjoy it to the max. So it's a good thing I usually do some high fives after finishing a run with friends and teammates, since it just makes it more satisfying and I like that pat on the shoulder, especially when you go out for a morning run on Sunday in freezing temperatures. I think it was about 20-25 Fahrenheit this morning (-5 C). When I told my lovely roommate about my race goals for the Kleinerman 10K in December, she told me to "take it easy, relax and don't become too competitive!" I almost choked in my tea, since first and foremost I love to run because it does clear my mind and makes me feel good, but I definitely am more competitive since I joined my team. That's the beauty of running, you are racing against others, but also against yourself when you have your own individual goals. In our team, people really encourage each other and the coach is equally happy for the fastest and the slowest people when there's progress. I have to realize that not everybody understands that, so it's great to have found this team and have made good running friends. When I come home all sweaty and muddy and exhausted after a Cross Country run, my roommate returns from the gym with her hair still in tact and no traces of sweat. We bond over breakfast though :-)