Silver lining to the fact that I did not get my first 100 mile week this week (it was way smoky yesterday) is that this was my longest run ever. Went up SF canyon to get away from the smoke to no avail. Started running, and remembered I hadn't worked out this week (sickness) so I had no excuse to not work it on the long run. Didn't feel like I was going too fast, but I actually hit 6:03 pace for the 19.68 miles. It was pretty epic as I used an N95 mask. 20 minutes in, it started crumpling in each time I took a breath, so much that it crumpled into my mouth and I felt like I was suffocating. Had to stop in the middle of a hill, and had the idea to flip it upside down. This allowed more smoky air to come in, but also decreased the suction so it stopped doing that. 550 feet elevation gain. New shoes feel great.
Felt pretty springy today, my pace was a lot faster than previous weeks. Perhaps this was because I was going downhill on the latter miles when I get tired anyway. I wonder if it was because I didn't run last evening. Maybe getting a full 24 hour break between runs helps with recovery for races and stuff.
Update: Currently between Stamford and Murdo, SD, about halfway across the state.
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