Given that I hadn't done anything hard in two weeks since my race, I knew this would be a good opportunity for a marathon prep long run. Last year I did 3 LRs of 20+ miles, and I had yet to do any this year. After flipping back and forth, I decided to run on west river road, rather than Theodore Wirth, given that I thought it was important to be able to get up to speed on a route I know well and just click off miles. I ran 5:46 pace overall, 5:38s on the way back. At 20.68 miles, this is the 3rd longest training run I've ever done. Fort Snelling state park is gross right now. A lot of it was under water, much of it still is. So it smells yucky and is grimy and slippery. It was only 60 degrees when I started but must have been humid because I was pretty lathered in sweat.
I took Maurten for the first time today. I unfortunately need to report that GU has it beat in about every way- cheaper, lighter, less bulky, more aesthetically pleasing, better tasting. The only reason I left GU was becuase I thought it had less carbs than it actually does now that I check again (oops). There may be some other technical reasons why Maurten is better, so I think my plan for now will be to take 4 GUs and 1 Maurten in upcoming training runs, followed by 5 GUs and 1 Maurten on race day. Maybe miles 2, 5, 8, 12, 15, 18 we'll say tentatively.
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