3rd and Final 20 Miler (AKA That Time I Killed My 3rd 20 Miler)

I'm going to just cut to the chase, cooler temps rule and I am so freaking grateful that I did not have to run my last 20 in the heat and humidity that has plagued me all training season!

This was such a great run, I'm not even sure where to start...

Fri night I worked late, relaxed at home and was in bed at 9:30 and probably sleeping by 9:45 - score!

Sat I was up bright and early at 4:30, running partner picked me up at 5 and were in the city and in Central Park running by 6.  The parking gods obviously loved us!

Sunrise over Manhattan

My plan was to pretty much run this solo.  We both agreed that we needed to do our own thing so we split up after our first mile.  I was plan-less and basically decided to wing it.  The first 10 miles were on the bridle path and along the reservoir, I'm so used to running the roads that this little adventure off the beaten path was great and just what I needed.  Even though I'm out on Long Island, I have done a bunch of runs in the park this year so it was nice to see new things and switch up my route.  I felt very Ally on the run which was cool.  I love her blog and am always inspired by not only her training but her general take on life with a pretty terrible disease. I even made a pit stop at the tennis court bathrooms (tmi?  lol).

I could have stayed in the park all day but I weaseled my way into one of the million training groups that were getting in their long runs and headed out of the park down 59th over to the West Side Highway.  I think I was with the Jack Rabbit group, still not sure, but they were great and I was pretty pumped to leave the park. I figured they were going to stay in the park for their whole run so it was a nice surprise.  Once I was settled into a nice rhythm I ended up splitting from the group and did my own thing, I ran through Riverside Park and decided to turn around to head back once I got just past Chelsea Piers.  Running partner was running the 4 miler NYRR/Fitness Magazine race so I wanted to make sure that I was close to the car around the same time as the end of the race which worked out perfectly.

On the way back while chugging up the 59th street hill I ran into Ashley from a Healthy Happier Bear and introduced myself.  I always feel like a creeper when I run into fellow bloggers, but who cares!  We put all of our stuff out there on the internets anyway, so why not say hi!  She was so sweet and we chatted for a second about our upcoming races.  It's crazy how small the city can be! I saw her and her friend again around my mile 19 which was awesome!

I could go on and on, but seriously, this was a great run.  I felt strong and kept my pace at an average of 10:30 which was very doable for me, no tanking at the end! I also ran solo and with no music which is exactly how I'm planning on running Chicago.  This was definetly the run I needed to have, nothing like a good 20 mile confidence boost!

As far as nutrition goes, I stayed with water the whole time and had 2 Gu's  - one at mile 6 then again at mile 12.  For the marathon I'll take in a 3rd at mile 18 and if necessary a 4th around mile 23.  I seem to be Ok with my fuel which is awesome, I'm also planning carbing up with some Chicago style deep dish pizza the night before which should hold me over!  Anyone have any suggestions?

You can read more about my other 20 mile runs here and here.

19 more days!  I can't wait!!!!