One Race. Three States. Today I ran in the Eastern States 20 mile run, a race that began in Kittery, Maine wound along the New Hampshire Sea Coast and ended just over the border in Massachusetts. This was the last 20 mile training run on my marathon training calendar.
When I got out of the car in New Hampshire to board the bus to the start, it was frezzing cold and the wind was blowing at about 15 mph. I was a little apprehensive at this point. My fears were allayed when the sun came out and the temperature warmed up a bit. It was still cold during the run, but not freezing.
I had a pretty good run today, keeping a decent pace that flucutated between 8:00 and 8:25 or so for most of the race. My unofficial time was 2:50:07. I really should take off a few seconds as there were no timing chips and I did not start at the front of the field when the race began.
Overall I was satisfied with my effort and am looking forward to tapering things off until April 18, when I’ll tackle the Boston Marathon. This week I am taking Monday and Tuesday off, and then I will run Wednesday through Friday, mostly short distances, leading up to a 12 miler next Sunday.