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Day 50 20K Challenge: Ran 12.5 miles in 1:59:16. I ran my fastest splits the last 2.5 miles. Felt really good and it was good to run farther than 20k for the first time. 21 days till race day and I am going to work on trying to cut my times down a bit. I am overall really happy with my progress. 50 days ago I could not run a ¼ mile without walking part of it and today I ran 12.5 miles with no walk…ing. Going under 2 hours was a bonus for me also. Yesterday was supposed to be a rest day however my son David asked me to run 5 miles with him so I did. Oh to be 22 again. His pace was a little faster than mine but I held my own and kept him in sight. I have lost 24.5 pounds so far. My knees really like the lighter weight.

Day 53 20k Challenge: Nothing like the Iowa weather to test your resolve on your new running habit. May 3rd I was running in 8 inches of snow and today May 14th it was 96 degrees and the Iowa humidity. I ran 5 miles today on the Carlisle trail and it was hot. I got a chance to try out my new Camelbak Hydration backpack and it worked great. Took a little adjusting to get used to it being on my back… but it was great to have water during such a hot run. I got another new pair of shoes and today was their first run also. Due to the heat I purposely slowed my pace each mile just slightly to keep from overheating on the first day of heat training and finished the 5 miles in 51 minutes. I am hoping that race day proves to be much cooler than today but will take whatever Mother Nature throws at me I guess.

Day 54 20K Challenge: Did a group run with the local Triathlon team tonight. 5.6 miles with over 1100 feet of uphill. I finished in 13th place out of the dozen that showed up but it was a good workout anyhow. Thanks to Zoom Performance for letting me tag along. — at Zimm’s Food & Spirits.

Day 57 20K Challenge: ran 14 miles in 2:12:53. What a beautiful morning to run. Dave joined me on the Carlisle trail. I finally ran far enough to experience a runners high. It was an incredible feeling for the last mile. Two weeks to race day!