Run to Paradise

Distance: 20.3 miles
Time: 3:13:18
Average: 9:32
Run type: Long
Location: Smithville Lake
Weather: Partly cloudy, 53 to start.
Aches: None
Injuries: Groin pull
Observations: On the side of the road I found a 10-inch bungee cord and two arrows. I kept all of it. Also saw what I think was a blue heron.
Session comments: I wasn't sure when I started if I was going to be able to go 20 miles because of my sore groin. It felt pretty good when I got up this morning, and I decided to run at Smithville partly because it would be harder to quit early. Better yet, when I got going I ran on the side of the road for a while and discovered the gravel and dirt shoulder was much easier on me than the asphalt, so I stayed on it for the first 10.5 miles. I actually ran to Paradise, Mo., which is a little bait and tackle stop (with a Methodist church). It was not "Paradise."
I didn't start the trail then until I had just 9.5 miles to go, and by then I was completely warmed up and had found a good, easy pace that cause me little, if any, discomfort. I was pretty sure I could go the distance, and I had no trouble with it. I took the photo with my cell phone at about mile 16. I look grim, but I felt good.
'Course, I'm sitting on an ice pack now.
And the beautiful thing is, I'm now in taper.