20 miles done!

As it's the May Day Bank Holiday on Monday I decided that I could be extra tired today.  Also, although the first week of the month is 'Parkrun day' my usual running partner is away and so I was left to my own devices. I decided during the week that I needed to exceed 20 miles / 32km.

A pleasant loop to Hathersage and back was a very convenient 32.8km and I know the route well so there wouldn't be any navigation issues.

My goal was to complete it in under 4 hours and this was met with a small margin. Typically I don't get any Strava 'achievements' for this effort as it was all done at a steady-to-slow pace. It has contributed significantly to my May award though:

The first 16 km were easy, I suppose I'm used to that and the 18 or so to Hathersage were OK. The ascent onto the moors was very tough and I walked most of it, as I expected. By 24km my calf muscles were upset and I was really glad to be home at 32km!

I tried a one minute walk every 20 minutes, or if the incline was too steep (up or down) or rough underfoot, but I think that was too spaced out to gain from the run-walk approach. I aimed to stay under a 7 minute/km average and I achieved this as a moving time. I was stationery buying refreshments for 12 minutes in Hathersage so that put my average just a little slower.

In general a good outcome, but 50km seems a challenge and 100km impossible currently.