I had been planning to do a long run anyway this weekend.  My 2 new running partners proposed Saturday.  They have been running together in preparation of their first half in Philly but I have not run with them since November.

Then I heard about Meg. Running on the road in the morning and killed by a drunk driver.  It could happen to any of us.

We decided to run 8 miles in her honor and wear blue since that was her favorite color.

At the last minute, Heidi had to cancel but I was still meeting Adrienne at the Corning Bike Path.  On FB, I heard that other runners that I knew were going to be there too.

The forecast was for snow overnight but it never appeared but it was cold (but not as cold as it has been or is going to be.)

When I arrived, it was still cloudy.  I immediately spotted runners. They were finishing their runs.

Then Adrienne arrived.

We decided to run together for as long as we could (she is faster than me). The plan was to go out for 4 miles and then head back. Ahead of us were some other runners that I knew (SRMs) who were running faster and fewer miles.  It was great to bump into them.

Adrienne & I talked the whole time which made the run bearable. As usual, I was fine starting out but I got very warm when the sun came out.

The path was mostly dry but every now and then there were patches of ice.  I made sure that I was VERY CAREFUL and slowed down looking for snow to run on. I am not used to running without any walking so I was kinda grateful for the ice.

But I did run the whole time with her.  (I even ate my Gu while running.) It was a struggle but I was able to keep up with her until the last 1/2 mile.  My back was starting to hurt and I told her to run ahead.

So I am pretty pleased. There’s something to be said about the pressure of keeping up with a running partner. This was about 10 minutes faster than my usual run/walk 8 mile runs.

And the snow never arrived!

What a great way to start off the weekend!!

Happy Running! Did you run any miles for Meg?