So this weekend turned out quite a bit differently than I had expected. The plan was for me to emulate a shorter version of the Dopey Challenge (5K, 10K, Half and Full in 4 days). Therefore, I had 3 miles scheduled for Thursday, 5 for Friday, 8 for Saturday and 20 (with Rachel) for Sunday.

However, Rachel ended up surprising me on Thursday night with SEC Championship tickets for Saturday evening. We decided to push the 20 miler to Saturday morning so that we wouldn’t feel the pressure of 20 miles the next day.

So I changed up my schedule as well. After doing 3 miles on Thursday (before I knew about the tickets), I did 8 miles on Friday morning before tackling 20 miles on Saturday with Rachel.

We got up bright and early Saturday morning. It was quite chilly to start (36 degrees which is pretty cold in Atlanta). We ended up going back out to Cochran Shoals since it’s a good path that we are both very comfortable with. (Plus the scenery really helps as you are running for that many hours)

We knew it was going to stay in the 30’s for the first hour or so before getting up to the mid to upper 40’s by the end of our run. So we layered up so that we could shed as we go. (We even got in a quick “before” picture…we look way too happy for it to be that chilly)

The goal was to keep a steady pace throughout the run. (That’s one of Rachel’s biggest strengths as a runner, while I have a tendency to start too fast) Here we are around mile 11. Still smiling which is a good sign!

At one point we came across a few deer which was pretty neat.

I believe we were crossing the 14 mile mark here. I had started listening to music by this point for extra motivation. Rachel was getting ready to take another gel.

Crossing mile 18. Only 2 miles to go. Still feeling good!

All in all, we finished within the time frame we were hoping for. Rachel said her feet were starting to hurt the last few miles or so but nothing major. I hit a “mini wall” around mile 16, but I know it was due to poor fueling on my part. I am bad about waiting too long to take fuel before I need it. Although, I have been much better during this marathon training than I was last year for my first full. Anyways…I was so proud of Rachel. She even said she could have gone a few more miles if needed which is always a good sign.

At this point, we are down to the final month before the WDW Marathon on January 10th. We will do one more 20+ mile run in 2 weeks before tapering. I am planning on using that weekend to mimic the Dopey Challenge again. But I’m definitely feeling good about that as well.

How was your weekend?