Nice Zoom, glad your ankle stayed good, keep being careful with it.

Solo, if you haven't been running much, three miles isn't "short" at all. I can't even remember how many times I learned that the hard way when I first started running - really it's HOW I started running, learning that three miles wasn't just something I could do once every few weeks!

Now though ... first 20-miler of this cycle yesterday. It was just sooooo beautiful! It was an amazing fall day, the roads were just incredibly beautiful, and everything was so perfect that even the not-so-perfect parts of the run were still nice. Accidentally routing myself behind the landfill ... I was upwind and there was enough of a breeze that I smelled nothing at all (not like the last time I did that ) - the machinery was mostly working elsewhere so it wasn't super loud - and I even got a look at their methane to electricity generating facility. The covered bridge that was covered with graffiti ... still a cute little covered bridge. And then there was the little pond with a bunch of turtles sunning themselves on a log, the tiny windy roads through the woods, the herd of goats with their herding dog, a few little creeks still running though it hasn't rained recently, and through it all the dry fall air, the leaves just beginning to turn, the quality of the light ... so beautiful.

I'm sore today, but even though I knew ahead of time that I would be, at this point I've done enough 20 milers that it isn't so much of a mental hurdle. It sure helped that I chose a route that wasn't quite as hilly my last two long runs, too. I'd mapped out a 20 that was at least as hilly, but decided I'd be nuts to try it yesterday. There's no flat around here, and there were still a few very steep hills, but in comparison it felt easy.