A Blistering 20 Mile Run!

Ok, so its almost tapering mode for my marathon. I FINALLY got in a full 20 miler today. This was only my 3rd ever 20 miler! I haven't been running as much as I should these past few weeks, and nothing since Tuesday of this week. So I did an easy 6.5 miler yesterday just to keep me loose for today. I tried on my new shoes the Brooks Ravenna... nice shoes, kinda high off of the ground though. It has a "different" feel to it than my other shoes. I got a nice small blister on my second toe after the run... nothing major. The shoes feel a little heavy for some reason. They are lighter than my Adrenalines, but they feel heavier. Or maybe it was just me adjusting to the different feel.

So I have this 20 miler set up today. Of course I had to try my new shoes on the long run. I felt sooooo weird running, like I was clumsy or something. But my true purpose was to not only get in 20 miles so my marathon will feel "familiar", but I wanted to mix in a quality session too. So I set out to do 5 easy, then 5 at marathon pace, then 5 easy, then 5 at marathon pace =20 (in case u couldn't add). I got there a little late... it was a group run sponsored by one of the local running stores... because they closed off the entrance that I'm used to entering to the park. All in all, it was a good run. I tried a new technique to carry my Gu... I had a wristband and stuck the Gu under it... worked like a charm. So everything went according to planned today, with my splits being:

8:12 / 8:09 / 8:11 / 8:26 / 8:29 EASY PACE
7:40 / 7:38 / 7:36 / 7:27 / 7:17 MARATHON(ish) PACE
8:05 / 8:09 / 8:10 / 8:11 / 8:21 EASY PACE
7:26 / 7:27 / 7:40 MARATHON(ish) PACE
8:59 / 8:44 COOLDOWN

As you see, I didnt totally stick to my original plan, but I decided I needed a cooldown. So I'm on a new confidence again.. all this on the heels of my 15k (another hilly race) from last weekend. Oh, did I forget to give a race report?? Sure did!! It was a nice cool morning, perfect for running. Before they even shot the gun, we was running uphill!! 10 minutes before the gun, I notice that I FORGOT MY GARMIN AND IPOD!!! So now I had to totally run on feel!! By mile 2, I ask a guy "What time u got?" He said "Almost 14 minutes!" I was like "OH (fill in the blank)"!!! Took off too fast. Mile 4-5 was very tough for some reason. Nothing spectacular about this race, except for joggers on the course not moving outta my way!! There was a lady I recognized that beat me by 1 minute in a 10k in the past... I got sight of her around mile 6. I inched and inched towards her, but I ran out of gas around mile 8.5 as we went up another hill. I tried to sprint it in at the end and could have caught her but there was nothing left for me!! She got me by a few seconds.

I sure hated that I couldnt get hyped up with my ipod, nor could I tell how fast (or slow) I was going without my Garmin. But it taught me to trust my body, not my external guides. I trot in at a somewhat respectable 1:07:51 for the 15k. Lo and behold, I get 3rd in my division. The pace was faster than my 10 mile race last month by 5 seconds. And one last thing... wondering why this was a blistering 20 mile run?? I got a huge blister on my toe right now after the run... I irritated it more during the run. Now the question, should I bust it or leave it be?? Not being a wuss about it, but until next time, I run on...