Thursday, April 12, 2012

Runmute

Today instead of driving my car, I ran to work!

My training plan called for 15 easy miles.  15 miles on a THURSDAY!!??  That is quite a bit of miles for a weekday.  The past few weeks, the weekday miles have really been growing - the past two Thursdays I have tun 13 miles each.  I thought about doing a double run with 6 miles in the morning and 9 miles after work but for once, running twice in one day did not sound appealing.  Then the idea popped into my head to run into work.

My work is about 10 miles from my house on non expressway roads but that still left 5 extra miles.  I began to experiment with routes and was able to add on a couple miles to make it 12 miles from home to work.  As I was making plans, I texted my running buddy.  She was pretty thrilled with my idea and since she lives very close to where I work, she decided that she would run out to meet me and finish the run with me.  I would run the first 6 miles by myself, then the next 6 with her and then drop her off at her house and add on 3 miles before heading into work.

I packed all my bags up the night before for Brian to bring into work (one of the benefits of working at the same company)and tried to go to bed early.


4:45am this morning I woke up and got ready.  I grabbed some cheddar goldfish and ate those before heading out just after 5am.  As soon as I started I knew I was overdressed for the run, but there was nothing I could do about it because I knew if I went back inside to change I would be late for my buddy meet up.


 It was super dark but thankfully since the local schools have this week off the traffic was extra light.  The miles were ticking by and I got closer and close to meeting up with my buddy.  Meeting up with her definitely helped to break the run up because I was so focused on meeting her, that I wasn't thinking about how many miles I had left to run.

Soon my running buddy appeared and we started running together.  It was great to have company and although I could tell I was tired from all the high miles, having someone to run with made everything better. 

Slowly the sun began to rise and it was beautiful!  Reds and oranges streaked the sky as we continued on, close and closer to work.  It was so different to be running after the sunrise because usually I never see it on my run this time of year.  Most of my runs are completed before 6am so this was a welcomed treat.


My buddy started to have some GI issues around mile 10.5 so I had to leave her behind and keep going since I needed to be to work on time.  The last 4.5 miles were slightly lonely and very tough.  I had packed water in my nathan hydration backpack but I didn't want to stop to take it out.  I was munching on orange GU chomps but I was just so thirsty. 

Finally, I reached the end of my miles and pulled into my work parking lot.  It was great timing because Brian drove in at the same time.  I was pretty happy to be finished with the run and pretty happy that I ran 15 miles before work.  Now I get a full 48 hours of rest before my long run Saturday and I think my legs really need it and are going to enjoy it too!


Thank goodness for work showers, that weren't that cold this time (except when someone in the men's room flushed the toilet) because I was able to dressed and working by 7:45am.  Not too bad for a long run on a Thursday morning.


I really enjoyed running to work and although it was tough to get all the logistics together, it actually worked out really well.  I hope I can start to do this more often!

Now I just have to get through the rest of the work day.  My legs are pretty tired and I can't seem to eat enough food to satisfy my starving stomach but it was worth it!

23 comments:

KellytheCulinarian said...

Wow, super impressive! I have a gym next to my work, which is how I fit in the pre-work shower, but I'm not quite to the point of running to work yet.

Rena said...

That's cool that you can take a shower at work. And very convenient that Brian works in the same company as you do.

Anonymous said...

crazy! and impressive! great job. did you end up eating everythign in sight after that long run!

Chic Runner said...

I wish we had a shower at work, but alas, we don't! Good work on getting the early morning run in and making it all the way to work! :)

Allison said...

I love to run commute, but it's under five miles for me. 15 before work is seriously impressive!

Karen said...

That turquoise shirt is really cute!

Where are good places to shop for cute work clothes that are not "going to the club" but not "old lady/old-fashioned" for a runner working girl?

Erica Gorman said...

Great job! Pat yourself on your pat for me and yes, work showers rock!

Anonymous said...

I think this makes the day so much more pleasant! If only for the benefit of having more hours before you have to run again! Nice job.

Gaspegirl said...

way to go... I will be biking to work in the coming weeks... it too is a 2 hour ride! I am really looking forward to it.

Being Robinson said...

that's awesome! i've often thought about running to work in the morning, but i just can't get the guts to do it. plus i work on the complete opposite side of town from my husband! tricky.

Life After Swimming said...

You are incredible!!! Awesome run!!! And so cool to be done before the day has even begun!

Tricia said...

super impressive!

Lisa's Yarns said...

Wow, way to go! I'm sure it's an awesome feeling to have the run done with and to give your legs a break before your long run this weekend! I am always impressed that your work place has showers!!

Amber said...

That's so awesome! I have 13 miles to do next weekend and my options are a) Friday before work or b) REALLY early Saturday morning before catching a 9 am flight. I can't run TOO work though because we don't have showers :( I'm still weighing my options on what will work best!

Brittany said...

That is sooo awesome you managed to get your run in before work, and such a long run! I am totally jealous of the showers at your work too!

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

Awesome job! I've wanted to run to work in the summer. Maybe someday. Love those long runs on week days.

RunToTheFinish said...

totally love it!! i have wanted to do this in the past but we didn't have any showers at work so it seemed like maybe not cool to sit round all sweaty all day :)

Elizabeth said...

Oh I am so jealous of those work showers! This is just awesome. Maybe you will do it again sometime!

Kim said...

I love that you did this! So awesome! I wish I could run to work! I ran 6 on Tues morning than 9 after work. It was awesome but I have been SO TIRED all week. Did you feel really tired on Thursday?

James said...

Nice. What a way to be efficient.

Suzy said...

Wow, that is a long run for a weekday! Way to get it done.

Jamie said...

Great job!! I wouldn't be able to run to work, but it is really nice that you can.

Anonymous said...

That is awesome!! What a great way to get your workout done! Aren't you scared running alone when it's dark? For some reason I can't run when it's dark, I'm always freaking out and think about all things that could happen.