Not the morning I expected

I had quite the eventful morning. Despite being able to sleep in and start my run at 7 am for the first time since god knows when, I was wide awake at 4:30 a.m. I thought about going back to sleep, but I knew that would only make me groggy, so I killed some time then got ready slowly.

I got to the school very early because I had the time and was afraid the parking lot would be full and I'd have to park behind the school. There was plenty of parking. I visited with Laura for a little bit until my group got back from their first 14 miles, then headed out at 7 am. We started on a 6 mile loop together, then most of the group headed back at the 3 mile mark while I ran an extra loop and helped Chris and Omar complete the last 8.5 miles of their first 23 mile run. They were diligent at keeping their pace slow for the first 14.5 miles and were able to finish these last 8.5 with me very strong. We averaged an 11:30 pace! A tad faster than I expected, but it didn't feel hard. I'm so proud of them!

With about 2 miles to go, I realized my car key was no longer attached to my shoe lace. I could not believe I had lost the car key ... again. The only time I remembered messing with my shoe was at the beginning of the run, so we kept an eye out for it as we finished our run. It gave the boys something to focus on and distracted them from the pain. I was out of luck and the key was nowhere in sight.

I called Geico to use roadside assistance, only to realize I had forgotten to add it back when I re-added the car after our no-car experiment. However, they were very helpful in referring me to a trusted locksmith who could come open the car and make me a key, but it would take some time. Chris was kind enough to wait with me to get everything sorted, then let me hang out at his place and feed me breakfast until the locksmith arrived.

I was not looking forward to spending all this money on a new car key, but I was out of options. When the locksmith arrived, I was impressed with their quick and thorough service. I was also grateful the type of car key I have was the cheaper option. Now I just need to get a spare, or three, in case this ever happens again =P

Three hours after finishing my run, I was finally home. It totally threw off my morning, but I managed to get some laundry done and relax for the rest of the day. So that's how my last marathon training long run played out. =) My legs are a little sore because our pace was faster than I expected, and probably because I am not fully recovered from Sunday's race, but it felt good. I'm looking forward to taking it easy during this last taper week and oh so ready for this race! Bring it!