Notes
BOO YA.
I can now check a 20 miler and a full 70 mile week off the list, and it feels good. :)
I ran this with Marit Sonnesyn (Gustavus skier and runner who has become a fast training buddy of mine), and Kate Eggers, another gustavus friend.
Marit was going 24 today (unnecessary and ridiculous in my opinion, but I digress), so she ran 4 before we met, and then we ran 20 together. Kate needed 14, and joined us for the first half+ of our 20 mile loop, and then looped back to her car solo.
The route was awesome, mostly because there was zero repetition over the course of 20 miles. The first half was my favorite because it was almost entirely on soft surfaces, in and around minehaha falls and Pike Island. The first 10 also went by fairly quickly with great company and fun topography. I can also tell I'm in a very different place mentally and physically than I was 3 months ago, because I got 10 miles into a 20 miler and felt like the distance was entirely do-able.
Legs started to get pretty fatigued around 16, ish, but there was never any question that I was going to get to 20, and actually I felt more spry at 18-20 than I thought I would. Relatively speaking, that is.
Additionally my stomach held up really well, and I was able to consume plenty of food as soon as I was done, and that was nice. As much as having quality in a long run sometimes makes it go by faster, it was also nice to have a really long effort that didn't have any quality, because my only task was to finish, and with good company and a good route picked out, finishing never seemed like an impossible task.
I'm going to have to figure out how to have company for this coming week's long effort. It will have quality in it, and I know Marit also has quality in hers, so running together won't really be an option, and Anders will again not be an option this week weekend. May have to call up mom and dad and see if anybody is interested in a 22 mile bike ride next sunday.