20 Miler #4
Joined up with the Bryn Mawr Running Club folks at their group long run on Northwestern Ave at the far end of Forbidden Trail. I don't get to run with these folks alot anymore, so it was good to see them.
There was about 20-30 folks there and I went out with the fast group. There were 7 of us, including BS, RM, JK and EK, as well as two other guys I didn't know. All are very good runners and I was hoping I could keep up for 20. We headed toward the Schuylkill via Harts Lane, which has hills that I remember really wiped me out the few times I ran with the Phila Track Club, but this loop had us running them the other way, so that was better. We ran along the Schuylkill through Manayunk and onto Kelly Drive for about 2 miles and then turned around.
The AIDS Walk was today, 20000 people walking the Drives. The good part about that was that Kelly Drive was closed off, so we ran on the road and we did that part before the real hordes descended on it. It felt like running the Phila Marathon, as the final miles are on Kelly and you see the tail end of the race heading up to Manayunk as you head down to finish.
BS stashed some water and Power Gel on Kelly Drive past the Falls River Bridge. I tried a Power Gel as various people were swearing by them, to see if the purported miraculous effects would indeed occur. I had never felt much benefit from them in the past. I didn't get any noticeable kick this morning, but did surprise myself how, once we got on Forbidden Drive, I was able to power up those hills. We maintained about a 6:30 pace, and it felt fine. At just before Valley Green EK motored past the group into marathon pace, and since we have about the same target time (although for her that is Olympic Qualifying time) I thought I'd better see if I could hang. Turns out it was more than MP, as we got down to 5:30 at times. She pulled ahead a bit at the end and I brought it back down to 6. When I finished I was happy: happy to be done, happy to have run that strong, and happy for the Gatorade, donut holes, and M&Ms that BMRC had at their post race spread.
20 milers don't get much better than this. Fast company w/ BS keeping the banter going most of the way, beautiful sunny day, closed off roads, and a post run spread. And most of all, I felt strong and thinking I gotta run more with faster folks. 2:13:53 for the 20.
I had a great training week this week. 72 miles with four workouts I was happy with.
C picked me up and then arranged for a picnic at Rittenhouse Square for me, her and T after we dropped M off at her rehearsal. Perfect way to spend an afternoon with fried legs.
There was about 20-30 folks there and I went out with the fast group. There were 7 of us, including BS, RM, JK and EK, as well as two other guys I didn't know. All are very good runners and I was hoping I could keep up for 20. We headed toward the Schuylkill via Harts Lane, which has hills that I remember really wiped me out the few times I ran with the Phila Track Club, but this loop had us running them the other way, so that was better. We ran along the Schuylkill through Manayunk and onto Kelly Drive for about 2 miles and then turned around.
The AIDS Walk was today, 20000 people walking the Drives. The good part about that was that Kelly Drive was closed off, so we ran on the road and we did that part before the real hordes descended on it. It felt like running the Phila Marathon, as the final miles are on Kelly and you see the tail end of the race heading up to Manayunk as you head down to finish.
BS stashed some water and Power Gel on Kelly Drive past the Falls River Bridge. I tried a Power Gel as various people were swearing by them, to see if the purported miraculous effects would indeed occur. I had never felt much benefit from them in the past. I didn't get any noticeable kick this morning, but did surprise myself how, once we got on Forbidden Drive, I was able to power up those hills. We maintained about a 6:30 pace, and it felt fine. At just before Valley Green EK motored past the group into marathon pace, and since we have about the same target time (although for her that is Olympic Qualifying time) I thought I'd better see if I could hang. Turns out it was more than MP, as we got down to 5:30 at times. She pulled ahead a bit at the end and I brought it back down to 6. When I finished I was happy: happy to be done, happy to have run that strong, and happy for the Gatorade, donut holes, and M&Ms that BMRC had at their post race spread.
20 milers don't get much better than this. Fast company w/ BS keeping the banter going most of the way, beautiful sunny day, closed off roads, and a post run spread. And most of all, I felt strong and thinking I gotta run more with faster folks. 2:13:53 for the 20.
I had a great training week this week. 72 miles with four workouts I was happy with.
C picked me up and then arranged for a picnic at Rittenhouse Square for me, her and T after we dropped M off at her rehearsal. Perfect way to spend an afternoon with fried legs.
posted by seebo | 5:10 PM
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