longest run in my life so far (Read 1948 times)

my friend and I wanted to do a longer than marathon distance..we both have run quite a few marathons but never more than 42.2k, so on Sunday(July 10) we set out for an epic(to us) long run...51.2k(this just happened to be the distance total for several different loops and an out n back from his place so we could fill up our bottles grab a gel..banana..watermelon slice etc.. between loops)

Another friend joined us for the first 20k then we were on our own, with a very conservative pace(9min mile) we felt very comfortable for the first 30k, from 30 to 40k there was some fatigue but our spirits were high, energy levels were good and we were able to keep pace without much difficulity, the last loop though was going to be the real test, 40 to 45k not so bad..was getting hot though and we were definitely feeling it, the last 5 to 6 k we were both "digging in" ..very little chat going on those last kms..my bottle was already empty by the 45k..thankfully Chris was able to spare some of his for that last push, we continued on to the finish..holding pace..in a time of 4:35:12, 8:39min per mile pace. It was a pretty awesome expirence for the both of us(I should say the 3 of us..my running partner dog Ravi ran the distance with us!)

here is a pic of us just as we near the "finish line"(Chris' driveway) Im the 180lb "Clydesdale" in black

Here is Ravi, 11, catching some shade after the 51.2

That's further than I've ever run, very nice.

No offense, but I'm most impressed that the dog lasted the whole way.  

That's awesome! Great job for all runners involved.

Did Ravi get bananas between loops too?

Thanks all for the comments...we are planning a 60km run in September, as for Ravi he will be joining us for that long run as well

Ravi has been running with me since 2004, on average I run 1500-2000 miles per year, he has joined me on atleast 95% of all my training runs, a former sled dog when he was young..they would compete in races up north, he was the lead dog on a team of 5 ...would pull for 50km a day for three consecutive days, his musher(a friend of mine) retired him at 3 and asked if I would like to have him as a running partner, even days that I take off from running I often ride my mountain bike for 9miles and have him run along side me, even at 11yrs old he is strong as ever, not looking forward to the day he is no longer able to run with me..but it doesnt look like it will be anytime soon

Great job and I love that Ravi goes that distance with you. I had to laugh when you used the phrase "conservative pace of 9 mpm", that's heart attack territory for me! LOL Super.