Notes
Really solid long run today- had a pretty chill day up until I decided to go out the door- wasn't sure how my legs would feel or anything so figured I would just go from my house with the goal of getting to blackwell and then playing it by ear. Had the wind at my back most of the way out but felt decent- after a 6:30 first mile, was basically running 6:10s-6:15s most of the way out there. It was a good run from the standpoint that mentally I wasn't bored and even though I didn't really daydream, I was content on the run. Once i got to the forest preserve, started clicking off 6 flats, did the hill and started coming back via mcdiz, even into the wind, at this point I was rolling- felt just really smooth and easy and was running 5:50s. Started to get dark which made the footing on the grass path a little tedious but besides that, just had a really solid time coming back. My last 9 miles were sub 6, and I felt very comfortable doing it. Right calf tightened just a bit to where I could feel it the last few miles but wasn't terrible. Got back to the house under 2 hours so added on a loop around the neighborhood- last 2 miles were sub 5:40 pace. Overall, great long run. 20.4 miles at 5:58 pace, legs felt good and smooth, breathing felt comfortable as well, and the last 9 miles into the wind, probably averaged mid 5:40s so that was solid.