A Good Long Run

Simple Title huh? It's funny, if I were to compare the 20 mile run I did for my first marathon earlier thisyear , to this 20 mile run, simple would be the word to describe the overall feeling in comparison. I know it sounds odd, but this 20 mile run didn't feel that bad and was actually pretty easy. Of course that is relative, but this 20 miler even felt easier than the 16 and 15 mile long runs earlier in the fall. I think one main reason I felt good was the light week of running I had up until today. I didn't run Monday, ran EASY Tuesday, short workout Wednesday, and didn't run Thursday or Friday. So I had some pretty fresh legs. The weather was perfect, and I was able to run almost 11 miles of it with company, which always makes it easier mentally.

Jason and I were planning on meeting to knock out this long run since earlier in the week, but when he insisted on starting no later than 9am, I stuck my heels in and said I'd meet him at 10am after he had gotten a head start. I was content to run the last half solo, if that meant I could catch up on sleep. Which I needed - the jet lag, and 3 hours of sleep I got Thursday night were rough on the system.

So when I pulled into the Sardis lot of McAlpine at 10am, Jason and David were finishing up their first loop, and when I joined in they were at 9.5 miles roughly. Both of them were doing 20 miles, so I was going to accompany them for their remaining 10.5. The three of us set off down McAlpine Greenway where we would basically do the standard stretch of "out and back with course" route that is protocal for a 10 mile run. I'd say we kept the pace around 7.50-30 for those 10 miles.

Once we got back to the lot, David and Jason were finished - so I paused quickly to down some water and take a couple Cliff shots. I started back down the Greeway, but took a left and ran up to Boyce Rd. Park, and meandered through those trails before heading out to Sardis Rd. where I would come back down towards the parking lot. Once there, I took a right onto Old Bell Rd., as I wanted to do some hills during this portion of my run. I was around the 15th mile when I headed for the hills, and was able to roll through there fine without loosing much pace. After completing that I needed about 4 more miles, so I cut back through the trail up to Charlotte Christian and went along until it fed back onto the Greenway about a mile in. I took a left and headed towards the Monroe Rd. bridge, checked my time, and headed for the car. I kept the pace pretty comfortable, around the 740 range - but the last two miles I started to pick it up. Feeling well enough, I wanted to try and simulate running around my goal marathon pace for miles 19-20, thinking it would only help come race time. My last two miles were 7:30, 6:45. I got going a little too fast the last mile - I actually was on 6:20 pace for the last mile, but I pressed the brake a little bit and still finished strong.

Miles: 20
Time: 2.33.40
Pace: 7.41