Running with Lara!

I had a wonderful time last night, meeting Lara and running with her in the 10K development run in Utica! She is just as wonderful and easy to talk to as you would imagine by reading her blog. And we ran the whole way together, which was great and gave us a chance to talk (although, by unspoken agreement, we did have a few "no conversation zones" when we were working hard!). Let me tell you, that girl can FLY on the flats and downhills, and has an amazing finishing kick!
The run itself was just what I was hoping for in terms of Boilermaker prep. The hills were not as steep as what I train on around my house, but they were plentiful and long. And the atmosphere was like that of a race, with lots of people, water stops, mile markers, etc. Since I haven't raced in ages, it was good to get the feel for that again. The weather was wickedly humid - I almost think the first 1/4 mile was the hardest for me, just getting into the groove and getting a good sweat going.
We averaged an 11:38 pace, including a 9:41 pace for the last full mile - we passed quite a number of people in the last mile and a half, and didn't get passed by anyone, so it was really nice to have such a strong finish.
I feel much more confident about the Boilermaker now, and am very much looking forward to seeing and running with Lara again!