20 miles of complete challenge

The four Horsemen of running, was the cause. Heat (80 degrees), humidity (80%), headwind, and hills (big and small, and lots of them).

Sunday's run started at 8:30 am, starting at 165th street and Riverside Drive. We met, reviewed the course, and the six of us in the 8:30 pace group headed toward New Jersey for our longest training run to date, 20 miles. We were told to slow down a bit, maybe 15 to 30 seconds per mile, for the first 17 miles, and then speed up for the final 3 miles, going at "race pace" or about 8 minutes per mile.

The start was fun, over the George Washington Bridge, to New Jersey, and into Palisades Park. The first water stop was down a long steep hill, to the base of the Hudson River at mile 3 1/2. So far, so good. It was getting back up that hill when we realized we were in for a challenging day. We followed the park road for 6.5 miles north, going uphill and downhill while we chatted away. All water stops were viewed as an oasis, and we stopped momentarily to drink gatorade and water and move on. Our pace was about 8:40 per mile, and we were down to a group of 5 as one slowed considerably on the hills.

At the 10 mile mark we spent an extra few minutes refueling. I was dripping with sweat from head to toe, not from the pace, but from the heat, hills, and humidity.

As we headed back, my energy level drained. We began to pass slower groups of runners and found quite a few taking walking breaks. One of the faster running groups passed us, and then we passed one of them, as he was taking a walking break.

When we got to the 16.5-mile mark, we again descended the steep hill to the base of the Hudson River, reloaded, and started running back up. I walked and jogged for the next mile or so as I started to feel dizzy, and one of my teammates stayed with me. When we sighted the GW Bridge, we picked up our pace and ran about 8 minute miles back to the starting point.

Summary
It was a tough day to run, and a very difficult course. Nevertheless, in the end, we completed it in about 2:52 for about 8:40 per mile. I found many runners today talking about how difficult it was for them as well. It should make the marathon course seem that much easier, as there are only a few hills and small ones at that.

Coach Adam has written a good essay on conquering the four forces, titled "Heat, humidity, headwind, and hills: Find out how to deal with the Four Horsemen of running.

Happy trails!

Peers