First run with a running buddy and hydration

This past weekend, we traveled out of state to attend a cousin's wedding.  My husband's cousin, Katie, was in town for the wedding also.  Katie is an awesome runner.  I had asked her if she would like to join me for a long run the morning of the wedding.  She is much faster than I am; so I was hesitant about asking her to join me.  She graciously said yes.

We left from our house on Friday afternoon and twelve hours later; we arrived at the hotel.  I slept for a few hours and then dressed to go run.  I was a bit nervous.  I decided that I better eat something now, then wait until later in my run.  I ate a package of assorted Sport Beans.  I was surprised that they tasted pretty good.

Katie met me at the hotel and we ventured out.  It was sure nice to have my garmin be able to tell us how many miles we ran!  Our goal was to find a running trail, as they are many in the big city.  We weaved through many different neighborhoods.  We chatted about running, family, kids, jobs, and more.  Every mile, my garmin would beep and I was amazed at how the time flew by.  We didn't find a running trail, but I had a wonderful time.  We ran 8.5 miles.  My heart wanted to go on, but my legs died at mile eight near the fish market.

This was also my first time running with hydration.  The two trail races that I'm planning on require runners to carry hydration with them.  This was a great trial run.  I was wearing a CamelBak Delaney Plus.  Overall, it worked out great.  I was able to carry my cell phone with me too.  The pack didn't bounce around and I didn't noticed the liquid sloshing either.  At mile 7, the pack was starting to irritate my stomach; so I held the water bottle the rest of the way in my hand.  I still have a 'pouch' on my stomach from having five babies.

Here's a picture of our route:

We average a 11:58 pace; my best long run pace.  I know that I really slowed Katie down, but she was a great sport to go running with a newbie like me.  Thanks, Katie!

From my heart rate information, I burned 1157 calories.  When I returned to the hotel, I drank a protein shake and about 5 oz of mangosteen juice.  After stretching, I joined the family for breakfast.  I felt great the rest of the day and had a wonderful time at the wedding.