17km | Easy | 1:45 (approx) I decided to step up the mileage on Sundays and aimed to run 20km. After a hot morning down at Bronte Nippers I didn't get to pull the shoes on until about 11.30am. By that time the day had turned into a real stinker. Rather than run over towards the beaches, I decided to avoid the crowds and run the Centennial/Queens Park loop. I ran with a bottle in my hip holster and drank the entire 600ml by about 7km. I was feeling OK apart from the weak left leg dramas. As I was out of water I was on the lookout for a tap/bubbler for a re-fill. I eventually found a bubbler in the kids playground in Queens Park at about the 10km mark. From there I took a gel (PB brand bought at Coles). I've never had a gel before and when I ran with elder statesman & Strider Charles at the Internal 1/2 he said that he always takes a gel in a 1/2 at the start and at 10km. Same goes for a full M only every 10km. Anyways I took the gel, yuck - it tasted like icky sweet flour + water, and washed it down. Did it pep me up ? Um, maybe ? I'm thinking that I will have one halfway through my next Sunday runs or two just to get used to it. Whilst it probably won't do much for you when your running LSD pace, I reckon it would help when racing. I finished my second loop at about 15km and was way too hot to even contemplate another 7km lap. So I ran the small lap of Queens Park and headed home from there. What idiot runs in the middle of the day ? After lunch I took Gronk jnr down to Maroubra Beach for a swim, which felt good on tired legs. Even though I drank water all afternoon, I woke up this morning feeling like I'd been on the red all night. Very dehydrated. Note to self: drink more water everyday. Mood: --->

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