The Do It Yourself 20-Miler

After a bad run on Friday afternoon, I was unsure whether or not I'd even be running my Sunday 20-miler at all. When my race on Saturday went really well, however, I knew I was ready to tackle my second 20 mile run bright and early Sunday morning!

As I've proclaimed before on this blog, I'm a hardcore, life long planner. I love schedules and maps and to-do lists. LOVE them! So, it was very unlike me to not plan out my running route for Sunday's long run. Unlike me however perfectly intentional. I've been running the same roads and the same combinations of pre-planned routes for so long that it has gotten really, really boring. What better way to spice up a long run then to just wing it!

In addition to not mapping any part of this run, I also decided to bring along my iPod. A few weeks ago I wrote about how much I was missing my music and how I was going to start incorporating it into one run a week to get my "me" time. Plus, I felt I needed extra motivation to get through this run since I wasn't holding myself accountable to a pre-planned route and I could easily give up and go home if I wanted to.

I headed out east towards the Delaware, eventually ending up on the Ben Franklin Bridge to New Jersey. I always have some trouble keeping a challenging pace going up that bridge, but after Saturday's hilly 5k, that incline felt like no big deal! I guess there is something to say for hill training!

After I doubled back on the bridge I headed towards the Art Museum, making a quick detour around Eastern State Penitentiary. I reached Lloyd Hall and Boathouse Row around mile 8.5 and decided to go all the way to Falls Bridge and turn back, which would put me at about 16 miles upon returning to Lloyd Hall. I filled up the last 4 miles by heading further down the bike path and crossing over in West Philly by Penn before heading home.

The weather was absolutely perfect for this run. I was really worried that I would be too warm, but I actually ended up being a little of the opposite. It was mid-50s, breezy, with a misty rain.

Final Stats: 20.08 miles, 3:08:10, 9:22 pace

Tired but happy

I'm really happy with my pace for this run! I ran my first ever 20-miler almost 4 weeks ago and averaged a 10:10 pace during that, so I was much faster this time around. As well, I felt a lot less fatigued than last time. I got hungry around mile 18 (still need to work on fueling three times for runs this long instead of just twice) and tired at mile 19, but I remember feeling tired much earlier on during my first 20 mile run.

My Garmin measured 19.87 miles, but when I mapped it afterwards it ended up being slightly longer

I've got several more 20 and 22 milers this month before I begin my taper. After this weekend's run I feel very confident that I can meet my goal pace for the marathon (9:09) and I still have 7 weeks to prepare. While I may be running more 20 and 22 milers than other training plans prescribe, this is certainly a benefit of having a longer, 25-week plan, and I think by the time the race rolls around I will feel really, really comfortable running this kind of high mileage. Comfort is key!