20 Miles.

Destination : An Spidéal - a lovely little village/town by the sea in Conamara which was the peak of my 20 mile run.

I dreaded this run.  It was a monster in my mind for the past week - every time I thought of it I pictured myself being stranded miles from the car with both legs shot to pieces, gasping for water and praying for someone I knew to pass and give me a lift back!  Therefore, it was more than fantastic that it turned out to be a strong, confidence-building run.  I decided to run the coast road to An Spidéal instead of my usual Seanadh Phéistín route.  This is a busy, but extremely flat road, with only one or two slight inclines.  I parked the car at the midway point and ran five miles west, returning to the car, then five miles east and back home!  The first five were fine - I left a bottle of water at the turn but only took two small gulps. 

Here was my first turn, after five miles.  I left a bottle of water here, another at the ten mile mark, and another at the 13 and 18 mile marks.  I was happy enough with my water management - only took a few gulps each time, rather than my old style of carrying the bottles for ages!

The next five weren't too bad either - actually it was going so well for me that I almost invented a problem of 'heavy-leggedness' just to offset my surprise at how good I felt!  The five miles to Spiddal were the quickest of all - at this point I was well in the rhythm.  On the turn from Spiddal I was buoyed by the fact that I was only five miles from home and feeling strong - there would be no shameful end to this day!  At this point I considered my pace and felt it was strong enough (I don't wear a watch so had no idea what time I was registering).  On returning to the car and checking the time I discovered that I had run the twenty miles in three hours - which is 9 minute miles on the nose.  If I can manage this for the full marathon then the sub four is a definite possibility.  However, there is a long way to go yet, and much can happen between now and October 25.  BUT, for once I feel confident - I've reached the peak of the training programme, and if the taper goes well then there is no reason not to be upbeat...  Also, my granduncle died last night - aged 92.  He was a great old spirit, always happy despite living through hard enough times.  A lot to learn from his likes, RIP.

Distance:  20 miles

Route:  Bóthar Chois Fharraige

Pace:  9min miles

Satisfaction:  10/10