A new number

Yesterday, for the first time since October of 2007, I ran longer than I'd ever run before. It was a bright, chilly day with a fair amount of wind, but I was feeling good. I'd run a total of eleven great miles during the week--not enough, but not a bad showing either. No clinics yesterday, so we did our dedication and headed out on the road for our first of two fourteen-mile runs.
Our back-of-the-pack group was me, Nicole, Emily, and Cindy (who I ran with last week). The two-mile warmup through Wellesley was fine, although I always dislike that part of the run--too many cars, pedestrians, and other obstacles. You can't really run on the street, and you can't really run on the sidewalk either. Once we hit Wellesley college and the hills, I started to relax. Passing Wellesley, the hills calm down and I really hit my stride as we entered Natick. I felt great (if frozen) at the 4.5 mile water stop, and the Gu I took there really helped me for the next couple of miles. We were farther away than I would have liked to have been from the turnaround point when our fastest teammates started passing us on the way back, but I felt happy and energized when we hit seven miles. My legs were tight from the running and the cold, but I was feeling good. The Boston marathon course still has some painted mile markers on the street, and I noticed that we turned around at the mile 8 marker, and we had just run 7 miles. In other words, we were fairly close to how we'd feel on the course running the next seven miles. I kind of distanced myself from the group on the way back--I was at that point in a run where you just need to be going at your own pace. Nicole was first, then me, then Cindy and Emily a little ways back. I felt much better than I thought I'd feel on the way back up the hill to Wellesley College, but those last two miles were brutal. My left knee started hurting in the last one (never felt that before!) and I ended up walking the last couple of blocks. I was frustrated because I walked into the community center hurting, when I actually had the best thirteen miles ever--just the crappiest fourteenth. I iced when I got home, and stretched a lot, but my calves are still talking to me.
The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow, so I'm going to see if I can get up ultra-early and get a few miles in before work (I can't run there, because I didn't leave anything!)
All in all, a good showing, I thought, but my plan is to be fairly cautious this week, while still trying to build up my leg strength.