Long Run

Today we met for our first attempt at 22 miles. We actually had the option to do 20, but Alex and I went for the extra mileage to support Anne since this is her only opportunity for 22 before Portland. The route was the up and back route from Barton Springs up Exposition across 35th street to Shoal Creek and following the old marathon course up to 183. They did this route when I was on vacation and everyone had a rough time. The weather this morning was really warm. I heard about 80 degrees with very high humidity. As we started I felt like it would be a rough outing, but the run came to me and I ended up having a really good run. I ate CarbBoom every 4 miles and then drank a full Enervitene at mile 16. I went shirtless at around mile 8 and that really helped keep me a bit cooler and feel lighter. Once we hit 183 and turned around, we caught a nice breeze and that really made things feel better. The last water stop was at O'Henry where there were full small bottles of Powerade. I was really feeling thirsty by then and had to stop again at the Rock where Anne and Alex went ahead. I didn't have much of a kick or a fast finish, but ran pretty consistent all day and our seond 10 miles were a lot faster than our first 10.

I did a few strides, stretched with the people that ran the full 20-22 and then we headed over to Barton Springs for a much needed soak. I felt really good after the run and nothing hurt so it was an awesome day!

Splits
Miles 1-5 - 9:22, 8:48, 8:36, 8:22, 8:26
Miles 6 - 10 - 8:40, 8:29, 8:40, 8:33, 8:32
Miles 11 - 15 - 8:37, 8:31, 8:12, 8:16, 8:17
Miles 16 - 20 - 8:17, 8:36, 8:26, 8:19, 7:53
8:20, 8:45 pace for last half mile

Stats - 21.5 miles/3:02:36/8:32 pace
AHR - 140
MHR - 156