Long run with some differences

I managed the second long run yesterday, choosing the canal and the afternoon rather than suburbs and morning.  I do not have a definitive account of pace or even distance because the GPS-based app on my phone, which I use to measure these things, closed unexpectedly.  I am pretty sure that I did the best part of ten miles - five miles out and five miles in. There were a number of other differences to yesterday's run. I chose to leave off the thermal top I wear under my t-shirt and felt more comfortable; over distance one gets quite warm.  I also consumed one of those energy gel packs about half-way through my run. While preparing for my last half-marathon I learned that consuming glucose, about 40 minutes into any run that is longer than an hour, will enhance endurance. It does! I don't like energy drinks, preferring plain water to keep hydrated.  However, I do find that the injection of sugar (glucose sweets, gel pack or whatever) does help. Apparently, we begin to burn fat at some stage in our long runs, to do that efficently our system needs some glucose or carbohydrate too.  Whatever the science, I find it does help; I do not feel so depleted by the end of the run. The gel is disgusting though. It was like 7up in the form of toothpaste. Not good! It was also expensive at €2 for one little pack. Jelly sweets will do until the distance really increases.  One final difference to yesterday's run was the ground. It began with a soft tarmacadam surface and then became a mud path. This, of course, was easier on the limbs but required concentration so as not to fall and was a bit cold and wet.  After the first two or three splashes up my legs, I took little notice, but the white runners are no longer white! That's the end of this week's running which reached the grand total of 20 miles. Last weekend, I managed a cross-training stint of 2 hours with a walk, but that's unlikely this weekend. We're off down South to celebrate today the generation coming after us and, tomorrow, to remember the generation that went before us. Have a good weekend!