It was time for another 20miler today and to fit it in I was up before dawn and out the door before the sun had got his hat on.
The weather was a bit damp and the wind was up which made for a wobbly first four miles. I seriously wondered what I was doing!
I started by doing the Herts10k loop and then coming back to the house after 7miles to pick up my gels and drink. The rain had stopped so I decided to leave the jacket at home and hope it stayed away. Luckily it did until the last 2 miles when I was glad of it.
I eventually found some rhythm and held a pace just under 9min pace. That was comfortable on the heart and lungs but the legs were feeling weary and it was a bit harder at times than I would've liked.
The downhill sections were worst by a long way with the quads and feet aching.
The route is pretty good and relatively quiet although I did get the fright of my life when a Range Rover crept up behind me and tooted to get passed.
Although it was a tough run I was pleased that I maintained a pretty steady pace and effort. The 20miles were up in 2:55 which is a good 7-8 mins faster than 2 weeks ago and on a par with my times from 4 years ago.
My nutrition was a slice of toast & marmalade before setting off, two gels and a diluted orange juice drink with one tea spoon of sugar and a pinch of salt.
I'm looking forward to an easier week. The Berkhamsted Half Marathon is next weekend and I plan to taper nicely into it.
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