Easy 35k!?!

I know that the easy in Easy 35k on today's training plan refers to the pace, and not the overall effort but I always find it misleading. There is nothing easy about running 35km, at any pace!

I chose to explore the west end of the Trans-Canada Trail. I'm really lucky to live within a short stroll of the trail and while I've run eastbound many times, I had never really went past Stittsville Main going West. There is not really a way to make it into a loop so it meant an out and back course, but the weather was beautiful and I had loaded good tunes to keep me going so I knew it would be worth it.
The trail itself is really nice. An old converted train track I believe. The crushed stone is easy on the feet and the trees provide for shade and break the wind a little bit. It's really amazing that one can escape the city so easily and seemingly be in the middle of nowhere. The further I went along the trail, the more desolate it got with encounters only every few kms.
I grew up in the country so it is always refreshing to go back to a more natural environment. The spring is definitively in the air as the buds are sprouting all around. Fragrances of early flowers were a good picker upper when I needed a bit of a boost. Very earthy smells were everywhere, a little bit like what burning sage smells like.

I even got to see some canadian geese!
The run itself was pleasant. I didn't need to push too hard but there are always mind games when long distances such as this one are on the menu. I've become quite adept at dealing with the wall so I think I did fairly well. Easy pace runs are supposed to be run at 30 seconds to 1 minute slower than marathon pace, so at 3h22, I think I did pretty well. Next week is the big 38km and then it's all downhill until the race. I'm pretty happy about achieving the training plan's required 90km this week!

As an aside, for those who are contemplating their first marathons or for people that just enjoy running themed movies, check out Run Fatboy Run. I think the scene about getting over the wall is worth the watch on its own. I was thinking I should watch it again before my next race!

There is a 15 seconds / km difference between my Garmin and MyTracks. I'll believe the Garmin as that's what I wear at races and it's usually pretty accurate.

In the mix today was Orbital, Carla Bruni, Rob Zombie and Psy Harmonics. Talk about eclectic to ensure boredom will stay away.