A.M. 5 with Benjamin, Jeff joined us after about 1 mile. About 3.5 into the run I did a fast 0.5 miles on the trail in 2:21.5 with the splits of 71, 70. Jeff did it in 2:37. It felt good to run at world record marathon pace even though it was for only half mile. I did not have a bear jump on me this time. Actually felt like I could go longer at that pace, but not faster. Drank my "magic" carb drink (molasses sugar, honey, lemon juice, water) I had prepared earlier as soon as I got home. Then ran 1.5 with Joseph and Jenny, and 0.5 with Jacob.
P.M. Went with Benjamin and my mother to the chess tournament. Benjamin lost one game and won one with the net result of his rating rising to 1574. I drew one and won one with the net result of the rating rising to 1529. Benjamin is now ahead of me although not by far yet. At least I am still improving, although not as fast as him. My mother lost both games. The first one normally, the second she was winning but forgot to pay attention to the clock. She has played chess for a long time, and taught me to play when I was little but she does not have a whole lot of tournament experience. But she is getting some now when she comes to visit. The tournament was a good psychological tuneup for the marathon. A game of chess will test the depth of your emotional strength even if you think you do not care that much about the outcome. My second game told me that I was doing OK. I noticed my opponents mistakes, but did not get too excited about it, which is easy to do, and when you do you often make a bad move in response. I was able to methodically convert the small advantage into bigger until it became decisive with no blunders on my side that either one of us noticed. This evidence of emotional stability gives me confidence for the marathon. It is much easier to lose in chess off emotions than it is in the marathon, so if the chess side works fine, the running side should as well.
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