Back to Back 20 Milers

Yep, I did 20 milers two days in a row. Okay, they weren't both running. Friday afternoon I rode my bike along the 20 mile route that our RunnersWorld marathon training group ran on Saturday. I loaded up my pockets with sidewalk chalk and marked every mile according to my bike odometer. By the way, the love notes to Stephanie were courtesy of Brenda, who I met on the trail during my ride. I took the ride really slow and kept it in a low gear, so the ride served to kind of loosen up the muscles in my legs.

Saturday, I had a great time running with the group. The first few miles were a little tough because my right leg was a little bit tight, and my gait didn't feel normal. I had thought about dropping at Turkey Mountain, but it felt okay at that point. I hung with Jana for pretty much the whole run, and our objective was to keep it at 4 hour marathon pace, which we did pretty well. I think she will be able to finish the marathon pretty close to four hours.

Larry and Bill also kept up a similar pace, and I predict a close to four hour time for them. I suggested the world record plus two hours for a goal, which is what my goal was last year, only this year the world record is just a little bit faster. It is now 2:03:59. Gina faded a little at around mile 16, but I still predict a sub 4:30 for her. Rusty was going strong the whole way, and a 3:30 for the marathon wouldn't surprise me.

It seemed like everyone did really well, except for Chad, who had some knee pain and dropped at around mile 17. Hopefully it is nothing serious. Of course, everyone was tired, but what do you expect! They had just finished running 20 miles. For most of them it was a new threshold achieved. That is what the training is all about - getting tired, but combating that tiredness so that we can achieve new heights.

By the way, here are my mile splits (I did stop the watch for drink and restroom breaks. Too bad they don't do that in the race!):

Miles 1 and 2, run slower to warm up: 10:01, 9:43
Miles 3 thru 5: 9:09, 9:20, 9:04
Mile 6, which includes the up hill at Turkey Mountain: 9:31
Mile 7, down 71st Street: 8:24
Miles 8 thru 13: 8:53, 9:04, 8:52, 9:03, 9:15, 8:52
Miles 14 and 15: 8:37, 8:20 (I was trying to get closer to my marathon pace, so I ran ahead of Jana for these two miles.)
Mile 16: 9:37 (This included a short stop to talk to Keri, who was out walking her dogs. By the way she is pregnant and won't be running for a while. Jana and the rest of the lead group caught up and passed me.)
Mile 17: 8:52
Miles 18 and 19: 8:41, 8:13 (Those two miles I was trying to catch up with the group after I had waited around for Chad at RunnersWorld.)
Mile 20: 9:59 (I caught up with Jana and ran an easy mile to finish up the run.)

A big thanks go to Susan and Candice for giving everyone support along the way.