The Longest Run I Ever Ran Before My Longest Race (My 20 mile training run)

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Thank you!  And now, on with the post!

Hello friends.  I hope you're all enjoying a nice holiday with your families.  Since this is usually a time of year for reflection, it seems appropriate for me to go back in time to the summer, and review my training...

Actually, that is a lie.  I'm sorry. 

The truth is, this is my first opportunity to write about the training; the timing is just coincidental.  The next few posts I write will detail some of my very long runs. Let's start with the longest training run, shall we?

The date:

The plan:

Up to that point I had run one successful 15 miler, then did not complete my next 2 long runs (I was on vacation and between my training, walking an average of 8 miles a day sightseeing, and the humidity, I had a rough time.  I know, send the whaaambulance.)  Since I was not at all anxious in any way about this run, I had convinced Ann Marie that we should do it together.

The whole way to her house I couldn't shake the feeling that I was forgetting something. Then I remembered what it was.

Also, my earbuds.

Since everyone has 50 billion pair of these, Ann Marie hooked me up.  We headed out, but I was still feeling nervous and fidgety.

In hindsight, maybe we both were.

Our route was basically 2 laps of a 10 mile loop, that included a drawbridge that never opens...unless you need to run across it.

Twice.

Aside from the bridge, we had to stop for occasional traffic lights, and multiple water refills.

At that point in my training, I had developed blisters upon blisters on my big toes.  They would typically numb up after a few miles, but each time we had to restart running, it hurt.  Ann Marie was hurting too.

We were taking our run in 4 mile chunks, just as Erika had instructed us:

Chunk One:  4 mile warm up.

Chunk 2:  4 miles at 10:20 min/mile pace.

Chunk 3: 4 miles at 10:15 min/mile pace.

Chunk 4:  4 miles at 10:10 min/mile pace.

Chunk 5 was, mercifully, a 4 mile cool down.

At Mile 15.1 I made a comment proclamation.

We decided we should high five to commemorate the occasion.

We discovered it was surprisingly difficult to connect when both people were moving.

At Mile 16 we found blackberries along the trail!

They actually grow wild here.

We stopped our watches and made like squirrels preparing for the winter freeze.

They were, without a doubt, the very best blackberries I have ever had in my entire life.

Ever.

Feeling refreshed and hopped up on natural sugars, I was sure that the 4 mile cool down would be a breeze.

I was wrong.

By Mile 18 I was ready to be done.

So ready.

It didn't help that by that point on our route we were on a very popular recreational trail. Also, I kept looking at my Garmin every 0.2 miles.

But we slogged on, and in just 3 hours, 33 minutes, and 14 seconds we were DONE!

We limped our way back toward Ann Marie's place, agreeing that it felt like we had growing pains in our legs.  It was a strange sensation but it didn't last too long.

And then we high fived.

Successfully. Because we were standing still.


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UPCOMING POSTS:  RUNNING IN FRANCE, YEAR IN REVIEW