16.2 miles @ 7:30 pace
I headed up to Brooksville this morning for a change of scenery. This was actually my first time driving up there myself. Joe drove twice and my neighbor Jenny drove last time. I had been on the fence about going up there or just running in Starkey, but I decided I'll do my 20 next week in Starkey and go some place different for this week's long run. Mike and Eric were going to be there, although they were both doing different distances, but at least we could all start out together. I arrived there at 5:55, and after some warming up got going a little bit after 6:00. It was dark for the first few miles as there was no moon but there were plenty of stars out. The trail was pretty much desserted except for the three of us. Started out with an 8:30 mile, then 7:50, then I stopped looking at the pace for a while. Mike had originally said "12 or 13 miles" but he didn't turn back until we went out to 7 miles. I turned back at 8 miles and Eric was going out for another mile. Two miles after turning back I stopped briefly to get my music set up and to quickly stretch. Felt speedier after my brief stop, with the last 6 miles about a 7:20 average and final mile at 6:52. Mike had already left when I got back. Stretched and walked around a bit until Eric came back. Then, Eric's parents treated us to breakfast.
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