Thank goodness for the hat!

This morning's 19-mile long run was for week 11 in my current training plan, from the Run Your BQ online community, targeted at an early October marathon. A week ago, I also ran a 19-miler at a 9:50 pace, about a minute slower than my required BQ pace, with two water/Gu walking sections (~0.25 mi. each). Today was quite a bit warmer and more humid, so I was expecting a slower time. The pace turned out to be about a minute slower (10:54), including two additional 0.25 mi. walks--and, mile 20.

Mile 20 on a 19-mile run?

My eyes must have played some kind of trick on me last night, when I estimated the 19-mile loop distance with Google map. The plan was to go from home to almost workplace (~10 mi.) and then to loop part of the way back, for variety. Somehow, I misjudged the total distance by about three miles (!). By the time I realized, it was too late to turn around and retrace the first half of the route; it would have been even longer. So, at mile 19 and with three more to go, I decided to run mile 20 and walk miles 21 & 22 (~20 min. pace). These three additional miles pushed the finish time about an hour closer to noon. With the sun already fairly high up during that last hour, I was sure glad I had my hat on. I started to wear a hat on runs (esp. long runs) at the start of this summer. At the weekly mileage that I'm currently running (50+), the exposure to sun is significant. So, I got a wide brimmed hat with a flap at the back to cover the neck. It makes a difference!