Last 20-Miler of Steamtown Training Complete!

Yesterday, my dad and I completed our 4th and final 20-miler before the Steamtown Marathon! This was by far the best and probably the easiest 20-miler I have ever run!

Stats:
20.01 miles
2:52:11
8:36 average pace
*We have run 3 miles slower than this!

Splits: Straight from Garmin…

Not a flat course:

I am ecstatic about this run. Only 2 miles over 9 minutes, even with some tough hills! I am really proud of my dad. Usually during our long runs he is constantly telling me to slow down and I try to explain that sometimes it is actually harder to consciously slow down after my legs and breathing fall into a pattern. During this run, he realized what I meant. All the training we have been doing showed during this run and without even trying, we were able to run it at a faster pace. After the run we actually pulled up our 20 mile runs from last year when we were training for Philadelphia. It is so interesting when you compare them:

20+ Mile Runs 2009	20 Mile Runs 2010
#1- 9:31 pace	#1- 9:06 pace
#2- 9:53 pace (23-miler)	#2- 8:59 pace
#3- 9:48 pace	#3- 9:08 pace
#4- 10:02 pace	#4- 8:36 pace

All runs were 20 miles unless otherwise indicated. When I look at these runs, I notice a couple of things. First, this year, for the most part, we basically improved with each long run. The third 20-miler this year was run the day after a race, so our legs were already fatigued. Last year, when training for Philadelphia, we were of the mindset that time on your legs was all that was important. We purposefully went slow, and therefore, taught our bodies to run slow. We got slower with each run! This year, we focused more on speed and quality of runs. We ultimately ran Philadelphia in an 8:55 pace, and we were able to basically take a minute off of our 20-mile training runs. Even if I can only run a minute faster than my slowest 20 miler, I should still be able to qualify for Boston. We shall see. 3 weeks to go!

After the run, I iced, showered, ate, and napped (in that order!) because we had a wedding to go to. Let me tell you, if you ever can work it out that you do a long run the morning before you go to a wedding…do it! I ate everything and anything I wanted and my body was so hungry I always had room for more. Dan kept telling everyone I ran 20-miles that morning. Everyone we knew at the wedding just rolled their eyes and said, “Of course you did” but people we just met didn’t believe him! I guess I clean up okay and didn’t look like a runner :)

Pictures:

I bought this dress off a blog sale from the fabulous Tara.

Cocktail Hour…I ate more than my share of food!

The Happy Couple

They dated for 10 years…

Whew. What a weekend. I am exhausted. Time for a nap :) Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.