This morning at 5:30 when I should have been starting my 20 mile run, my son and I headed out to scout for deer. It was a nice 49 degrees. By the time we got back and I got out it was around 8:30. It was still nice [about 64 deg] when I started but with the sun getting up high and no clouds it quickly felt much warmer. I have a water stash 6 miles out. I wasn't that thirsty on the way out but on the way back [at 14 miles] I was very ready for a drink and looking forward to it for a couple of miles before I got to it. I ran the first 4 miles at 8:04 ave, the next 3 at 7:46, next 5 [8-12] at 7:33 pace, next 6 [13-18] at 7:24 pace, last 2 at 6:55 and 6:43. I ran up past the reservoir and on out the canal. On Saturday mornings there are often people camped at the reservoir and I like the smell of campfires and cooking breakfast lingering in the trees as I run through. Most of the canal has a nice 2 track along it that stays beat down enough from the water master driving it, which makes it nice to run on, but there is a 2 1/2 mile section that doesn't seem to have had any traffic on it yet this year. It has a lot of grass from knee to belly height covering the old 2 track that makes the running tough. I have to be careful not to roll an ankle. The temp was 73 when I finished but I would have guessed it was 80. It always feels warmer when the direct sun is that high. Last 2 marathon pace miles felt hard. Hard to imagine keeping that pace for 26 but overall it was a good run. Overall pace for 20 was 7:34.
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