20 miles, 8:53 (moving pace) 3:05 total time

I woke up at 6 this morning to meet the ECHO running club downtown at 7 for our 20 mile run of the Flying Pig course. It was SOO cold this morning and difficult to pull myself out of the car. Once the run started everything felt a lot better. We skipped the first 5 miles of the course (Northern Kentucky) and 1 mile in the middle (marriemont) to make it 20 miles. There were a lot of runners out training on the course today. I wanted to run between 9-9:30 but I was really at the mercy of the other runners, as I don't know the course all that well. Although the pace was faster than I had planned It didn't feel like I was pushing at all. We stopped 4 times for water, a few minutes each time. I didn't like stopping but it was nice to have aid on the course. The whole run went smooth, I had a little pain in my left shin towards the end but that was my only discomfort. This was the first time I had run on the course since the race last year. It was funny to think back to how I felt while at each section during the race (my first marathon.) I was really struggling during that race and it's nice to look back on it now and see how easy it is now. I was happy with the pace, and I think I can keep that pace for the race next month if I choose to. I don't know if I am going to try to break 4 hours or just have fun and run around 4:30.

I hope to get back outside today for another 10, as long as my legs still feel OK.