20 Miles: A mixed bag

Today was my much-anticipated longest training run of this cycle. It required 20 miles on the pavement and two months of coordination. I pitched the idea to my run club of ending my 20 miler at a brewery and having a great time out of it. We decided to end at BuckleDown Brewing, a local taphouse that's getting a lot of press and stellar reviews. Better yet, the owner said we could bring in our own food.
When I got up this morning, I had already ordered the post-run feast of empanadas, baked the best brownies on planet earth,

carb loaded yesterday and gone to bed early

And started my day with my favorite breakfast two hours before our start time.

I got ready to leave and meet the crew at the brewery and my car wouldn't start. Not a single sound or even an attempt at turning over. I panicked and shed tears - Tim was already at class and the charger was in his car. I ran around my neighborhood like a moron and eventually sweet-talked a neighbor into jumping my car. Then I used one of my teammate's Garmin tracker app to run them down like a storm chaser. I dropped in on them 3.5 miles into the run, dropped my car and just started running.


After that, it was smooth sailing. We chatted and picked up more runners along the way. We established check points along the way and picked up runners at a 15-mile stop and a 10-mile point, which was also the turnaround where another member of our club met us with water. It. was. awesome. I fueled with two honey packets, water, electrolyte tabs from Hammer and a single hammer gel late in the game.

Alas, when we hit the brewery and everyone else was done, I had another 3.5 miles to go. I planned to run back to my car, then drive to the brewery.

First, I hit the longest, slowest train ever. Next, I got held up by a funeral procession. And finally, I got lost. I couldn't remember where I dropped the damn car. I knew a member of our club was working at a running store nearby, so I walked there and called someone from the club to retrieve me.

At the brewery, we enjoyed awesome brews, empanadas 

and the most amazing brownies I've ever made.

The actual run was great - I averaged an 8:49 pace for 20-plus miles. But man, life, can you stop throwing me challenges? I've had enough for a week.