Notes
I would have preferred some more time before a long run, but it was my last run in CO and I gave Pollux the option (he chose long). We also ran somewhat early so we could then watch the marathon trials and enjoy ourselves.
I thought that we started off quick, but that was just the morning legs still waking up. Still, I was feeling good and Pollux said he had a 15mile flat run or a 17mile hilly run option. I told him I could do the 17, he took a mile to agree, but Pollux rarely backs down from a challenge.
We went up the same 400ft climb as 2 Tuesdays ago (my 1st big climb this year) and ran a little faster. Then we basically repeated our run from last Sunday but in reverse. There were 3 more hills, each less extreme than the last. I felt good on each even with the steeper sections. 1300ft total gain!
Pollux was actually the one searching for a bathroom this time, but the ones we found were locked. Improbably, his urge went away after a few miles of poor options for going outside.
The last 4miles were back to flat Fort Collins and we gradually ratcheted the pace up. With 1mile to go, I stubbornly decided for the both of us that it was time to force the pace down. I think that I wanted to prove that this wasn't all that difficult. That's the problem with having this marathon in the back of my mind at all times: I have a great long run but can't help but think I ran exactly 0miles faster than my intended marathon pace. Anyway, last mile right at 6min. Fun run, fun trials.