Long run today, my first 20-miler of the season. I drove out to Hollow Rd to run on the TOU course. Ran up the canyon for 10 miles, then turned around and came back. Had a headwind for the first 5 miles, and a tailwind for the last 5 miles. Wasn't a huge wind today, but still decent. I got a bit of a late start 8AM, so it was a little warm, but tolerable.
I treated the run as a progression, and notched it up the run went on. Mile splits on the uphill with headwind were 6:26, 6:20, 6:26, 6:23, 6:17. After about 5 miles, the wind let up, and also I got some cloud cover. I got in a nice groove at that point. Next 5 uphill miles were 6:13, 6:02, 6:01, 6:08, 6:24. Had a 6:15/mile average for the 10 uphill miles.
I used the bathroom near the turnaround point (ToU 1/2 start line), then headed back down. The downhill felt pretty nice at this point. Next 5 miles were 5:52, 5:39, 5:40, 5:41, 5:39. I started to wear down a bit, but also collected a tailwind for the last 5 miles. I was thinking the wind might die completely by the time I got back there, but it was still blowing a little, and it definitely made a difference. My last 5 miles were 5:26, 5:27, 5:25, 5:22, 5:21. Total time for 20 miles was 1:58:11, with a 5:55/mile average. The run felt pretty good, and I didn't have any fueling issues. I generally don't take water or calories during these long runs, and today was no exception. I feel fit, and that feels good.
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