20K

I wasn't sure this one would happen, but I gave it a shot, and it worked out well! I'm about 90% recovered from whatever the crud was that I had. I still have some congestion and a runny nose, and am a bit tired. Other than that, I am feeling OK.

The weather was lovely, for February. I got up late (thanks, mom & dad, for watching the kids last night & this morning!) and started walking around 8 am. It was 29F (about -2C) and fairly calm for the first 8-10K, but then the wind kicked up a bit. I had on my fleece and considered taking it off at the car at 10K (I did take my hat off at 10K), but decided to leave it on, unzipped. By the end of my walk it was a balmy 40F (4C) but with the wind I was still glad I had on my fleece.

I started off fast today and felt good. I knew that I'd get more tired at the end for it, but I just went with how I was feeling. I did the first 5K in approximately 30:45 and got to 10K in 1:01:34 (yeah, fast, like I said!) and then I did slow down a little, but not too much. My legs were tired, as I'd expected, from about 14K to the end, but I was able to keep pushing and did well. I took a gel at 7.5K and also at 15K, and had a pit stop at 12.5K. I also stopped around 17.5K because I ran into Nancy and Diane, who were out for a walk. Jim also coaches Nancy, and she's just getting back into walking after bunion surgery, so it was good to see her out there. She seems to be doing very well! She's going to come to the 15K with me in May :).

I got to 15K at 1:32:56 (31:22 for 3rd 5K) and then to 20K at 2:04:41 (31:45 for 4th 5K - slower, but definitely not a death march!). I was glad to stop, and my legs are definitely letting me know that I haven't done 20K in a while. They're a bit stiff and sore. Average was 6:14/km and HR was 148.

Garmin connect data here.