Today was a big run. 22 miles. I got lucky and it was a fairly nice day. Almost 50 degrees and sunny. Unfortunately this is Chicago and there was a lot of wind.
With the wind at my back I did the first 10 miles in 1:04:30, 6:27 pace. (after a 1 mile warm-up). I planned on trying to hold a 7:00 pace on the way back, and happily discovered that what I thought was a tailwind was at least half crosswind. Did the next 10 miles into some wind in 1:05:10. Total 2:09:42 (6:29) for 20 timed miles, 22 miles overall.
You might ask, why is this dude running 22 miles in February? (Assuming anyone actually reads this). It is because I am planning on doing a 50K on April 4th.
How did I end up running a 50K? Well, I was planning on doing Boston and enven signed up. Then I decided that I didn't have the time or energy or ability to properly train while trying to study for the massive board examination that I am taking in June. I also don't really have the money to spend to get there. I figured instead I would do something easier and locally. You ask, how is a 50K easier? Well, I don't care so much how fast I do it so it takes a lot of pressure off. It will be kinda like a long training run.
Of course, I am too competitive to completely take it easy, so I decided to aim for a 3:20 (6:27 pace.) This would win the race about half of the time. If I slow to 3:30 or 3:40, oh well. (This would still win the race about half the time.) I really don't have any idea how it will go because I have nothing to compare it to. I tend to die in the last 6 miles of a marathon, but I also run those first 20 miles at close to 6:00 pace. Hopefully I can survive to 31 miles by running slower. | 