Final 20 Before Green Bay

It always seems like the 20 mile runs this year are consistent with a 20-30mph wind.  Most days it is fine, but I’d been feeling wrecked already during the week leading up to the final long run that I considered quitting with each passing footstep.  I was cranky from the start and as much as I love having Matt’s company at whatever cost, I was almost upset that he was riding his bike alongside me rather than running.   

The only thing that kept me going was knowing that I got to taper after Garmin showed the magic 20.00mi.  Weak and sluggish, the first 10 miles were the hardest.  At a pretty solid effort, I came to mile 10 and the turnaround with a 9:02/mi. 

 

As soon as I turned around, I noticed that with the same effort, I was pulling off 8:10/mi.  That was encouraging.  The pace would even out by the time I was through.  With two fabulous caffeinated jet blackberry GU packets in my tummy, I finally had energy for the first time around mile 15.  Matt parked his bike and set off for a 5 mile (with the tailwind the whole way, lucky guy!) tempo run back to the car to wait for me.  I watched him pull away slowly. 

I passed a lemonade stand alongside the path.  That would have been me as a little girl.  As I ran past them, I shouted “Sorry ladies, I don’t have any money!”  They offered me a free cup, but I was already out of earshot when I realized what they had said to me.  Then I hit the mile split: 8:15. Hmmm, I think I want to finish this strong.  Wouldn’t that be awesome?  A perfect cap to my training.  

It was hard, but my last five miles were perhaps the most earned miles of my entire training cycle:

8:15, 8:15, 8:07, 8:09, 7:55.  Yeah!! 

20 miles, 2:54, 8:44/mi.  And my fastest 20 mile ever.

And the final mile was under 8:00/mi!!  That has never happened before.  Rock on.  Now for some rest, yeah?