This could be the day...I take 20 miles of me time

RUN 20 miles in 3:28
Ave HR 134, and ave cad 169
run 1 mile, walk 1 min

Hard as it is to skip family time for a run, seems it's even harder for me to skip a run. So off to the I&M path to simulate some HH100 running. From Utica, to LaSalle by the new building, up to Peru to the bakery, back to building, back to Utica, then rounded out going east of Utica towards Buffalo Rock.

I love this path. Some of my early running years ago was here. I've also biked it back when Ron and I worked at Starved Rock together. I love the quiet, steady, shaded, wildlife, nature-binge that I can look at without fear of tripping too much.

Got a bit of a late start hanging out with family, but a solid brekkie of egg whites and yogurt. The day was perfect for running -- neutral temperatures, clouds, calm winds. It's post rain so there's some puddling, dew drops, and fresh post-petricore smell.

The plan was easy, run 1 mile/walk 1 minute. Stuck to this the entire way. But the nutrition of mints and jelly beans was distracting and hard to eat. And I was HUNGRY around mile 11. So I gotta do better. Some ideas I've had are dark chocolate (melty?), M&M's (melty?), and Rice Krispie treats (hard to eat, have to walk?).

Stopped to see Mom at the "building", up (literally, it was uphill ever so slight) to bakery, Camelbak refill, back to building, back to canal, then to truck for 15 miles. It looks longer on the map!

So out towards Buffalo Rock, and the trail completely changed here. First a few homes and rough-paved path, then after the gates it was an overgrown trail. Trees obscured the canal, if the canal was even there anymore. And the path was overgrown with weeds and grass. I was passed earlier around mile 13 by a pickup, the pickup went by again around mile 16. A park guy? Find out tomorrow!

Lucky for me, the trail held out until 17.5, my planned turnaround point. The trail ended there with a gate, a lack of defined trail, and would have required a hike through a green mess of probably poison ivy type schtuff to pick it up again. Snapped a picture, nibbed some of my fuel, then back running.

It started to rain in my last segment, and pretty heavy at times. Running back the hay meadows, under the trees, along the tall watergrass that walled the path....loved it. Some thunder too :)

The run felt great, no problems except the nutrition thing. The run/walk intervals worked for this distance.