Marathon training update: Long runs DONE!

Technically, I still have two long runs to do, but today was the longest one of all eighteen weeks of training, so the rest are (much) shorter from here on out..minus race day. :p

The weather was gorgeous for a change--no rain, snow, sleet, or gale-force winds--and we were able to enjoy sun and a light breeze the whole time. Good thing, too, since the route was so hilly we probably couldn't have handled anything else stacked against us.

My running partner and I made the joint decision to stay conservative (the hills kind of forced that anyway) and try to not burn out like we did for 19 miles. She had to pull me back a few times when my legs were getting ahead of my brain, but overall we stayed strong and steady. The effort felt faster than the Garmin says, but that's ok. We were still under our planned race-day pace.

Here are the splits:

Split	Moving Time	Distance
1	0:08:55	1
2	0:08:30	1
3	0:08:22	1
4	0:08:37	1
5	0:08:32	1
6	0:08:40	1
7	0:08:44	1
8	0:08:30	1
9	0:08:33	1
10	0:08:38	1
11	0:08:49	1
12	0:08:50	1
13	0:08:38	1
14	0:08:50	1
15	0:08:45	1
16	0:08:52	1
17	0:08:36	1
18	0:08:55	1
19	0:09:03	1
20	0:08:42	1
21	0:00:50	0.1
Summary	2:54:51	20.1

From 18-19 we were going up hill into the wind. You can't win 'em all.

The H met me at the door with my coffee. Oh yes indeed, he's done this before. ;)

My lovely friend Heather, who hosted us and planned the route, also made a fantastic baked French toast with chocolate and dried cherries. Between that and the two hardboiled egg whites I put The H to work peeling for me, I refueled quite nicely.

One of these also found its way into my belly.

Sugar-covered sugar for the win!

A few ibuprofen, some water, and an elevated-legs nap later, I'm feeling remarkably normal. I'll use the foam roller before bed, and anticipate no lasting effects tomorrow. My friends and I were reminiscing today about where we started from: back when my long runs were 4-6 miles, I'd go home and eat like a horse, then nap for hours and walk funny for a few days. Today I ran for three hours, and feel like me. :)