Longest Run yet: 25 miles

RUN: 25 miles in 4:12. ave 10:05m/m; ave 149bpm. Lots of info here....
Lap 1: 6.26miles, 63 minutes, 10:11m/m 176 bpm. Recovery HR 99.
Lap 2: 6.15miles, 62 minutes, 10:03m/m 136 bpm. Recovery HR 100.
Lap 3: 6.34miles, 64 minutes, 10:07m/m 141 bpm. Recovery HR 111.
Lap 4: 6.26miles, 62 minutes, 10:00m/m 146 bpm. Recovery HR 113.

I'm very consistent!

All alone on this run. I was going to do CC Park, but decided against it to save time. I got started around 6:30am or so. Later than intended but it was still dark out.

And, it was 70F!! Shorts and a tank top weather :)

One HUGE change for this long run. I would run 2 miles, then walk 0.1mile (took about 2 minutes). I didn't always walk the full tenth, sometimes I would cut it short to 0.04 or 0.05 before starting again. During these intervals, I would eat and/or drink. I went through a mini Lara and a Powerbar, as well as 400 Infinit calories. So about 750 calories in-run. These two factors, the walk breaks and better nutrition, I think were huge factors in how good I felt both during and after the run.

I also stopped at each lap to re-group, bio-break, and eat. It was only a few mins each stop, but they made a difference. So maybe in my race, stop and rest at the turn-arounds.

Another surprise was that the walk breaks (and I walked fast, not a recovery walk) didn't add to my overall time. In previous weeks, I did 18 miles in 3:0o and 22 miles in 3:42. In this run, I had the same numbers?!? I think it helped that my form would really improve after a walk break and my legs were freshened up. Also that I stayed hydrated and fueled.

Big learning step for me! And likely a new ultra-racing strategy.

For as big as this race was, and as late as it was planned, it was relatively unremarkable. The pain in my legs was minimal. No apparent injuries. No dehydrated #1's later in the day. Very tired but not dragging like I've done before. Healthy hungry (ate 3300 calories!) and healthy thirsty. One more run tomorrow....