Still a Novice - As a Sense of Accomplishment Accompanies 20-miler

OBJECTIVE
20 mi.@ 7:46-8:36

ACHIEVED
20.02 mi.@ 8:35

5:38 AM 78° 77% 1 mph

Ran with Jonathan, Augie, Randy, Josh and William today. The group had varied distances scheduled today but generally hung together through 14 miles. I guess I felt okay overall. It's good to be reminded what it feels like to run 20 miles. I also came up with this mantra along the way: "Start smart; finish strong." My last 7 mile's splits broke down as:

8:35/8:33/8:09/8:05/7:53/7:44/7:39

Of course that means the start was slow but that's fine. I had a nice, unplanned progression to finish this long run and I felt fine doing it.

In addition, this comes at the end of my all-time high weekly mileage: 57.7 miles. I've got another big week next week then it will be time to taper.

Gritted my teeth and hopped in a 20-minute ice bath when I got home. It made a difference last time.

PRE RUN
oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk

POST RUN
SlimFast & water
Later, cherry-blueberry smoothie and multivitamin
Later still, frosted mini wheats & skim milk