Last big run before the marathon. Next weekend runs are 12, 8, and then marathon. When woke up this morning and let the dogs outside I found that the heat and humidity had come back. It wasn't completely miserable but not as nice as it has been recently. Starting conditions were 79° and about 90% humidity.
I met up with Dixie and Joe at the Suncoast pkwy trail at 6:00. Joe was going to run about 15 or 16 and Dixie had signed up for the full 20 miles. We started out at an easy pace, 9:30 for first mile and then 8:40-8:50 for the next few. It was still dark for a while which was nice except for a good number of bikes on the trail zipping by. We turned off the suncoast trail and made a left into the Starkey park trail. After 7 miles Joe turned back. Dixie and I continued on until we had done 10 miles then started back. We still had the pace nice and easy with nothing really faster than 8:15. We stopped a few times to keep our water bottles filled and take some gels, so some of the miles were slower. When we got back to the Suncoast trail, I had to take a left to retrace the route and get the full 20, about .35 miles up before heading south. Dixie was starting to fade so he took a right. With his head start it took me a while to catch him. I found out that although he was fading, there was a big guy that Dixie wanted to stay ahead of. I eventually caught up. We ran along side for a short time. With one mile left to go, my "reward" for not going fast (it was an 8:36 average pace). I wanted to see if I could do the last mile at marathon pace. So, I picked up and got into a pace, I looked at the Garmin and it said 7:06, so I figured I would hold onto that if I could do so without an all out effort. I pretty much did that, finishing the last mile at 7:08. Total distance was 20.12 at this point.
I drank some water, then walked back on the trail until I met up with Dixie then jogged the last 0.2 miles in with him. The temp at the end was 86° but the humidity had dropped to 78%. Not ideal but a little better than miserable. The run felt pretty good overall. I did end up with a blister but I don't think it should bother me too much. I didn't feel completely spent at the end. Part of my brain said no way could you do that ending pace for another 6.2 miles let alone an entire marathon. Another part of my brain said otherwise. Glycerin - 148
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