Six more weeks exactly until Boston! Yesterday I got in my second 20-miler of this training cycle. It rained in the early morning but I knew it was going to be a good run when the rain stopped the second I stepped out my door at 7:15 a.m. Perfect running weather — dry, overcast, and 61 degrees for the entire run.
Distance: 20 miles plus a quarter-mile cool down walk
Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes plus 6 minutes of cool down walk
Pace: average 10:00 minutes per mile (6 miles per hour) not counting water stops and stoplights
Water stops: three (one at a park, one at a high school, and one at an elementary school)
Ounces of sports drink consumed: approximately 75 ounces (about half a gallon plus 1.25 cups)
Other runners I saw: 3 total, but not any until about mile 18.5! And then two of them passed me and I was a little bummed and kind of wanted to say, “But I’ve already done 18.5 miles!” Silly I know, a training run isn’t a race. Actually I hoped they’d stop and tell me what they were training for because I often see this woman running in the morning and I know she’s got to be training for a marathon. But she had her earbuds in and I didn’t want to shout after her.
Animals I saw: 4 — 2 very healthy coyotes who were more scared of me than I was of them, one rabbit, and one tiny snake.
Calories burned: approximately 2,434 according to MapMyRun.
Calories consumed in the form of powdered Gatorade: approximately 360.
Memorials I saw to cyclists and motorists killed on the route: 3 😦
Elevation gain: 1,266 feet
Putting in some serious hill work in preparation for Heartbreak Hill at the Boston Marathon!
Times I thought about Boston while running: eleventy billion
Number of podcasts I listened to: 3 (Another Mother Runner, Runners Connect, Run Buzz Radio)
Number of cities I ran through: 5
Number of donut shops I passed and had to resist stopping in for a maple bar: 2. I’m not kidding. I had $5 in emergency money in my running pack.
Mile at which it started to get pretty difficult to keep running: 16
Mile at which I really wanted to be done: 18.5. That’s when my husband and 13-year-old passed me in their car on the way to a tennis match, and I wished they could have scooped me up and driven me home. My husband reports that I looked hunchbacked at that point (a sure sign of my being tired). But of course I’m really happy I kept going and finished strong.
What’s your favorite donut? What’s your favorite podcast or other choice to listen to?
Fit Fun Mom 
Great job!!! Love this 20 miler recap. And thanks for the podcast recs, I have only listened to runners connect and not the others. Only 6 more weeks until BOSTON!!!!!
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Thanks Jane! I’m so happy to see you get to run Boston this year after all! And huge congratulations to you on your PR and BQ at Phoenix (also my PR and BQ race time that finally met the cutoff for registration). 🙂
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Thank you!! Congrats to you as well!! I’m sure you’re looking forward to the race as much as I am!! 😄
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We’ll done!
My favorite podcasts are wait wait don’t tell me, how to do everything, the hidden brain, and ted radio hour. All npr 🙂
Favorite donut is the classic German Berliner: strawberry jelly filled and glazed!
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I love Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me! I’ve listened to a few of those on the run. I will check out the others — thanks!
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Great job on the long run and passing the donuts up! My fave donuts: buttermilk or a Krispy Kreme glazed. I listen to books when I run, but I listen to running podcasts when I’m on my computer or ironing. I’ll have to look into Run Buzz Radio.
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I’m a fan of buttermilk and Krispy Kreme too! A rare treat. I also listen to books when I run — just depends on the day and how good the book is whether I listen to a podcast or book first. Run Buzz Radio is a little shorter than most and not an interview style.
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it’s fun to think up blog posts while on these epic runs, too. What a cool recap. I’m so excited for your first Boston!!
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That’s exactly how I entertained myself — thinking about what I would write. 🙂 Thanks for all your support along the way to Boston. You are in my thoughts too and I am happy to see you keeping up with the running community as you wait for some answers.
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They had these krispy kreme donut holes covered with sprinkles at the end of the half I just ran on Saturday…they were most awesome! I’m relatively new to the podcasts when running but I enjoy marathon training academy once in a while and a new one from the UK called running stories – well the one episode i listened to was quite good. Congrats on getting that long run done. I’m enjoying reading all the buildups to Boston…that’s as close as I’ll get!! Cheers!
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That sounds like the best post-race treat! I might have to have my husband bring me some donuts to my next finish line, along with my usual chocolate milk. Thanks for the ideas for running podcasts — I’ll check them out!
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I loved this long run recap! I think about Boston about eleventy billion times during long runs too 🙂 And I also often have that urge to tell other runners when I’m super far into a long run, so you aren’t alone!
As for a favorite donut, I love chocolate cake donuts with chocolate frosting. Mmmmm!
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Thanks! I’m starting to think I’m going to have to celebrate the Boston finish with a donut or two!
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