I did manage to skip the organized half-marathon run, but I happened to be driving by as some of the runners approached the finish. It did look like fun! Good for them!
I ran from Gateway Baptist to Food Time and back - exactly 8 miles - and with a 64 minute time, that was exactly an 8 min/mile pace. I was pleasantly surprised at my pace since I had planned to hang back a bit on this run. That speed seems to put me in my groove. However, my goal for Friday's long run is to run a steady 9 minute mile. I have a 5.7 mile route planned out so that's about 51 minutes per lap. And if I manage to do that four times, that's 22.8 miles. Physically, there is no reason why I can't gut that out and mentally, I refuse to back down. I'm looking forward to it.