The entire race is 28+ miles and I have the toughest leg with 6.18 miles of hills, or so the race info tells me.
The last time I ran 5 miles or more was the end of July. I've been running some since then, but not regularly. So this morning, I went out to run for an hour. I know my six mile leg will take me longer than that, but wanted to push myself up to that level with enough time to recover before the relay.
It's still ridiculously windy and about 50 degrees, but I pulled out my hour and came close to 5 miles. Not too shabby for not having hit that distance and pace in two months.
For more of the run I was thinking of Eileen at Leaner by the Lake who ran her first 10K over the weekend and she's been inspiring me to get back at running. It's not as enjoyable as it used to be for me, probably because of how much work it is to get back to the running shape I was in even a year ago.
I'll admit to spending the first mile thinking how much I hate running, but by the end, that little bit inside me that says "You've got this," came back and it may not have been pretty, but I'm feeling pretty good for having finished. It's not to be fast, it's not to go further than anyone else, it's just to do what I can do. And I can still run six miles.
More prep runs will happen this week and we're getting pretty excited for this relay. It might be hard, but we'll be looking at scenery like this.