The Skippo 20k Trail Race - Recap

Sunday was my last big training day before the 50k in November.  One last chance to put some hurt into the legs, and add some confidence to my mind.  The plan was simple: run easy to warm up, run hard during the race, the run some more after the race no matter how painful or slow it is.
My buddy John and I ran about 4.5 miles on the trails before the race, just to get good and warm.  It was a great way to get into a rhythm and make an educated decision about what to wear for the race.  After that first loop, I refueled and stretched lightly.  Just before the start, I shed a couple layers because it was about 40F, and not too windy.
I couldn't help myself in the race.  I went hard.  Like I always do.  Originally, though, I wanted to just "push the pace" a little bit to simulate tired legs and higher effort than normal.  I overdid it admittedly, but I loved it!  This was pretty  much all out, half-marathon effort.  I just went with it and ran as hard as my heart and legs would let me.  The course was supposed to be 20k (12.4mi), but ended up being a little long (12.8mi).  I finished in 9th place overall, and 2nd in my AG in 1:32:25.  I was very excited!
http://bigriverrunning.com/skippo20k_male.htm
Then came the hardest part of the morning.  John and I headed back out for 5 more miles on the trails.  We were notably slower, and much less comfortable than we were earlier in the morning, but we were moving!  That's what counts.  One foot in front of the other.
All told, we ran over 22mi in a little over 3 hours.  Needless to say, it felt great to sit and eat a hotdog, pretzels, peanut M&Ms, cookies, and drink beer at the post-race BBQ.  It was well-deserved.
That run gave me a total of 903 for 2009 so far... more than DOUBLING my mileage from last year.  A tribute to the trails.  And to not trying to do Ironman.
I was out of commision the last 2 days, but I'm feeling much better now, and was even able to get up and run in the rain this morning.
Also, on Monday night, we went for a family walk.  We made a deal with Bennett that if she'd sit in the stroller for one lap, we would let her walk the next lap with us.  Our goal was to walk quickly and get the heart pumping a little bit.  Turns out, our second lap was faster than the first.  Having a toddler is always a surprise.   Bennett ran around the entire neighborhood.  I kid you not.  All .50 miles of it, without stopping - except to fall twice.  I thought that for her to run at her top speed for that long was incredible.  I was most impressed with her tenacity, though.  She was determined to run around the entire loop, and she wouldn't be stopped.  After each tumble, we inspected her hands and knees, deemed her no worse for the wear, and she kept right on charging.   What a trooper! 
It is good to see all the speed work and drills paying off.  :)