Lyons to Longmont and back

This is a route I drive quite often and often wonder aloud why on earth all bikers choose to bike this boring, asphalt car/SUV highway? Well, despite all my previous wonderment, I wanted a nice and easy 14 mile run so I thought I would give it a go: Longmont or bust! It was a pretty flat and easy run for the most part (was nice wearing my Newtons instead of trail shoes) so by the time I got to the 7 mile mark, which is approx Hover St., I decided I would continue to Main St, just so I could say I made it to something a bit more concrete than the outer limits of Longmont. My knees were getting pretty sore the last 5 miles but it was workable. My speed was considerably lower, something I blame my lazy pace. While I had a very long run which made me think a marathon is quite possible, I now want to change my focus to increasing my pace a bit so I can make a 4 hour marathon. When I finished, I had a voracious appetite after burning through a flat (1033 ft gain) 17.6 miles in 3:17 run. Map