My goal today was to run for about 2.5 hours. I figured I could sustain a pace of about 7:45 for that amount of time. I ran along the aqueduct on the dirt side to get off the road, and it felt great to stay off the pavement.
For those of you that don't know what the "aqueduct" is, it is a water filled canal that runs for hundreds of miles and is only about 6-7 miles from my house. There is an asphalt trail on one side and dirt on the other. I opted to run on the dirt side the entire time today, and was glad I did.
I won't bore you with 19 mile splits but highlight the half marathon split was (1:40:30) and I hit 18 miles in 2:18:00. I was very consistent with my mile splits, mostly between 7:25 to 7:40, with a few slower miles here and there but only the first mile was over 8:00. My average pace over all was 7:39.
Coach McMillan, out of Flagstaff, AZ has a great article on long runs. Today I decided to do a long steady distance run and try and get through the run without any carbs. I parked my car at 60th and the aqueduct and used that as a home base. I ran out for 4 miles, then back to the car for water, then out for another 4 miles in the opposite direction, then back for water, then out for 1.5 miles, and back to the car for water. It worked out well but I should have gone back to the car one other time as I was getting a little dehydrated.
Overall, I felt good but I don't think I could have gone much farther. I will try and get in probably 2-3 more long runs of at least 18 miles before the big day. My next long run will be a "fast finish" long run.
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I will ride support for you on your next long run. It is nice to have someone right next to you to hand you a drink, kind of like a rolling aid station.
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