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Today was what is going to be my only 20 miler of this training period. I decided to do three laps of the 7 mile loop, taking it easy but working towards ensuring I got faster per loop.

After the first loop I questioned if it was really 7 miles.. and when I got home I looked it up and I think it’s closer to 6.5, so I guess I only did 19.5.

I decided to take it easy; I was a bit sore after Thursday and I had a big jump in mileage this week (I even cut Friday’s run down from 5 miles to 1.5…). So my laps went:

1: 1:03:23 (9:45)
2: 1:00:57 (9:22)
3: 0:58:06 (8:56)
— 19.5 miles in 3:02:26 (9:21)

It was getting pretty hot at the end, but I felt strong, and most importantly, confident. Often I go out too fast and fade. I felt completely in control in this case. I sorta wish I’d known it was only 19.5 though, I would have tacked a bit more on at the end.

Oh well, at least I was out there for 3 hrs. As well, my overall average was about the same as my middle lap, which makes me feel like I was at a good pace. And although I cringe to see more than 9 min miles, it IS a long run. As I was running, I was telling myself that the point of this run is to get used to being on my feet that long (>3hrs), not to run fast. I already know how to do that.

oh yeah, and note to self: quaker breakfast squares are NOT a good pre-run breakfast. I’ve had some stomach issues lately (in that I feel gross after every meal) but that was particularly icky. Nothing like feeling like you’re gonna yak on a run.