LONG one -- Mon. Feb. 21

Presidents Day, so wait for the sun to get up properly and the mornings 3+ inches of snow to thin out a bit, then set off for a two loop run, with a sandwich ready for the halftime. First loop is Howard/Jensen/Enfield/Sheffield and back by 202: somewhat hilly, but feels okay, and keep pace steady somewhere in 7:30s ~ 7:40s, thinking about the second half. Then, grab a drink, loo stop, and out again with sandwich in hand for part two: down to Hamilton/Bay/Metacomet/Federal/Orchard (lovely view!)/Goodell, then Federal and 9 back home. After 17 miles starts to become a bit of a death march, but hold on till 20, then feel good for a mile or so, but やっぱり pace is slow, and end up pretty sore. Data:

Time: 2:53:42
Distance: 22.12 miles
Pace: 7:51s

Comment: I'd wanted this to be "easy" pace, but I think I'd need to go to 8:00s or slower for that. Which would mean more than three hours -- maybe I need that for training? Still time for a couple of long runs to sample slower speed, but at this point I'm revising my mpace to even slower: back up to 7:20 average, I think, is more realistic. Ouf. 頑張らなくちゃ。