AM- Long run part II. I was glad to see the predicted snow missed us last night, though it did snow a fair amount during my run. Temp was pretty nice- 33 deg, though there was a strong breeze at times. Plan was 3.5-4 hrs, 25-29 miles (depending on feel). Run went fine for a while and I felt pretty good. Ran 90% on snow/grass again, which was softer yet slower than pavement. Jeff ran with me from about mile 11 till 17, which was very welcome. Averaged sub-8:30 pace through mile 20, when I stopped to change my shoes, socks, and shirt in an attempt to get warm and dry. However, during miles 20 thru 22 I made the mistake of heading out to the exposed Snake River landing. The headwind had really picked up and the light snow turned into a driving sleet. I was cold, wet, tired, and pretty miserable; in other words, I felt exactly as I had hoped during this run. However, fighting the elements really sapped my strength. The weather improved markedly when I turned around, but right then my hips started hurting. A lot. I've never had hip problems before, so this was new territory (then again, I've never ran 60+ miles in 2 days before, either). The pain slowed me to 9 min pace for 3 miles. At this point, I decided discretion is the better part of valour and called it a day. I slogged the final 1.5 miles back to my car at 10 min pace. Total 25.5 miles in 3:41:25. The next few days will be recovery and deciding if my hips are injured or just sore/tired. The whole purpose of this week was this double long run, so I'll take as much time as needed to recover.
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