Saturday was my first 20 mile run in my training for Hartford. I met up with one of my training friends from Team BMC and his co-worker who are both training for the Chicago Marathon. They were planning to run 16 miles so it was great to join them and have someone to chat with.
We started early since it was supposed to get up to 85 degrees by mid morning and be oppressively humid-yuck! There was not a cloud in the sky which made it a beautiful day...just not for running 20 miles with the sun beating down on us! We made sure to take plenty of water breaks and our route kept us in the shade as much as possible. Miles 8-10 were pretty exposed and I remember thinking how the heck am I going to run another 10 miles in this weather?!?! We just kept reminding each other how easy it will feel to run in cooler, more ideal conditions.
We got back to our starting point covering 16 miles so I said goodbye to John and Paul. Bryan was nice enough to come meet me for the last 4 miles and he brought cold water with him. Those last miles were tough...the sun was high and strong and we were running uphill. There was a sprinkler watering flowers at Boston College so I ran through that a couple times to cool down :)
We finished back at Marathon Sports where I had met my friends. I hobbled over to the Seven-Eleven for some Gatorade and 3 bags of ice. That was the best tasting Gatorade I have ever had! I caught my reflection in the mirror and it looked like I had just gone for a swim, not a run!! I got home and filled the bath with cold water and my ice bags and jumped in to soak my sore legs.
I finished the day with some shopping (new running shoes and a pair of jeans) and then went to the movies and out for ice cream. I'm feeling pretty good today....my shins and hips are a little sore, but hopefully the new shoes will take care of that. Today was cooler and not as humid....we went blueberry picking and to Ikea for a little more shopping. Overall a great weekend!
Total miles for the week: 52.5!
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