Boyden Lake 20-miler

I ran 20 miles today with the two relaxed, cool dudes in the picture above - Mike and Andrew.

The low points:

• I forgot to bring 2/3 of my water along - I mooched a bunch off Andrew and Mike.
  
• I struggled the last couple of miles.

The high points:

• Pretty much everything else.

I ran the famous Boyden Lake loop, in great weather conditions. The gents were very accomodating with this still-new, still-slow runner, and the chatter and company helped the miles fly by more easily. Here are some things I learned from the adventure.

1. The loop has very little traffic. I think I saw more horses than moving vehicles, and I'm not even sure that's an exaggeration. Perhaps this is the closest I will come to running in an Amish community.
2. Apparently if we come across dogs along a running route, we are to engage in gentle teasing with them. "Just watch that he doesn't run between your legs."
3. "YOU DON'T RUN A MARATHON TO LOOK AT SCENERY!" - so yells Andrew Seeley. However, the Boyden Lake run was not a marathon, and it was quite scenic.
   

Andrew even tailored a joke to his two Canadian running mates, telling a a blonde joke involving the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Some other stuff ... it was a good overall pace for me, with occasional walking breaks coming at good times. One of those breaks was during a pretty good uphill climb around mile 15. You would think that in my near-obsessive following of Mike's and Andrew's blogs over the last several months, I would have picked up on the fact that there are a few hills on the route.

Even with that tough hill, I was feeling ok until we ended the loop after 17 miles, then headed into the last three miles. I found those to be tough, but slogged them out with a couple of short breaks. Back to the vehicles and some sweets to end it, with a good sense of accomplishment. I'm looking forward to doing it again someday.

This marked the end of my second consecutive 50+ mile week . I'm not scheduled to have another one for another three weeks, although both of the next two will probably be over 45. I've got three more 20-milers in my training schedule before the marathon, but I'll probably trade in one of those for the half-marathon in Saint John at the Marathon by the Sea. Faith Ann completed her first 18-miler yesterday, so her training is also coming along as per her plan. We're getting there ... slowly but surely.