I can't believe I ran 20 miles. Over four hours of running. Who in their right mind does that?!! All I can really say about it is that it was HARD! We were visiting my parents in Wisconsin for the holiday weekend. Emily and her family joined us. So at least I didn't have to run it alone. The route was pretty much flat and probably 95% farm roads. All we saw for hours was corn and cows with an occasional car speeding past.

The first 10 miles were really good! We got to the Varley's house at just over 10 miles and I was feeling great. By 15 I was feeling shaky, but had left some peanut butter sandwich cookies with the water jug we'd dropped on a corner and they seemed to help. By 18, the sun was hot and we were jelly-legged. But we managed to finish out the last two miles by setting small goals--run to that stop sign then walk a block or so; run to the end of this street, then another walk. It really wasn't pretty, but we finished it out with a run up a small (although it seemed giant at the time) hill.

We rewarded ourselves with a soak in the hot tub and lunch at Blue Spoon Cafe! Followed by an agonizing 3+ hour drive home. Ugh!

I have to say that this 20 mile run hurt less than the 18 we'd done two weeks before. We had to stop and stretch numerous times then; my legs and back felt really tight. During 20, I didn't experience any of that. Just pure exhaustion the last couple of miles! I'm not sure how I'm going to go for another 6.2, but I'm hoping after the next 20 mile training run, I'll feel more confident. 

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