First 20 Mile Run For This Marathon Training Cycle

Completed the first 20 mile run for this marathon training cycle. The weather conditions were tough: overcast, 32 degrees, winds at 25 MPH, and a wind chill of 21 degrees. We ran a 7 mile loop course, but cut a mile off the third loop.

Average pace per mile was 9:42, which given the wind isn't a bad time. We also ran a 1 min, 30 sec negative split. Total time was 3:14:09.

Split times

1. 9:58
2. 9:37
3. 9:45
4. 9:32
5. 9:57
6. 9:43
7. 9:53
8. 9:44
9. 9:41
10. 9:45
11. 9:40
12. 9:39
13. 9:32
14. 9:41
15. 9:41
16. 9:23
17. 9:26
18. 9:18
19. 9:15
20. 9:18

I'm encouraged by completing this 20 mile run. It was not my fastest 20 miles ever, but given the tough conditions it was a good long run. Also, there are still 6 weeks of training before staring the taper, so I should be able to get 2 more 20 mile runs in with another 18 mile run. That would give me 3 x 18 mile runs and 3 x 20 mile runs for this training cycle.