Oh What a Run!!!

In preparation for this mornings 20-miler Joe took me to see Jersey Boys last night.  It was an amazing show but we were out until almost midnight and I was scheduled to meet Tami and Felice at 7:30 this morning.  Oh and 7:30 was really 6:30 because we had to change the clocks back.  Needless to say when my alarm went off this morning all I wanted to do was turn it off and go back to sleep but I got up and I am so glad I did.

Today's run was awesome! Tami planned a loop for us near Dyken Pond which was super hilly.  It was a 10 mile loop that we had to do twice.  The first 5 miles were basically all uphill but the 2nd 5 miles were basically downhill so that helped.

In the first mile or two I had trouble catching my breathe again on the hills but eventually I found my pace and felt better.  The first loop flew by, especially when we got to mile 5 and were able to cruise a little on some of the downhills.  We were all feeling good but tired when we got back to the cars to refill our water and start our 2nd loop.

The second loop started out HARD.  The first mile or two of hills was killing me, my breathing was all wacky again and I had to walk a little.  I told Tami and Felice to keep going but luckily each time I caught my breathe I was able to catch right back up with them so I didn't really lose anytime.  After I got through that the miles started flying again and we were around mile 15 where we started hitting some downhill stretches again.  It was so nice.  Finally we were at mile 18 and I was amazed at how good I felt.  I felt like 2 more miles was nothing.  And then we were at 20 and I still felt great! I felt like I had a few more miles in me if I had to.  We finished out the run at 20.35 miles with a 9:58 pace.  

Tami and Felice were so great to run with.  Pace-wise it's a good match for us all.  We had so much fun chatting along the way.  They are such positive people and really make it fun.

This was an extremely hard run on mountain roads. If I can run a route like this and feel strong, I feel confident I can take on the New Jersey course. 3:59:59 here I come.