Ran an 18-miler today, which is 2 miles farther than I've ever run. 8:07 AP.
I didn't really confine myself to any pace; I just knew I wanted to run easy, with a few MP miles at the end. Well, the tendency to speed up as the miles drag on kind of took hold. Here are my splits - 8:28, 8:25, 8:29, 8:28, 8:18, 8:19, 8:22, 8:20, 8:21, 8:09, 8:09, 8:06, 8:04, 7:47, 7:44, 7:41, 7:38, 7:20. The last mile would've been faster but my keys fell out of my pocket with 0.2 to go and I had to backtrack a couple steps to get them That physically hurt.
I'd say my lungs never felt challenged until the last mile, maybe second-to-last. My limiting factor right now is my aching legs, and all the nagging minor injuries that intensify on long runs. I think I just don't have the long runs under my belt yet. I felt like Frankenstein on the last couple miles - almost bit the dust just trying to hop up a 4-inch curb in the last mile. Weak!
The other thing that makes me nervous is the tendon I mentioned yesterday showed up with a sharper, more localized pain on my foot in the last 4 or 5 miles and is killin' me now. It's that big tendon that goes from the shin muscle all the way toward the big toe. I got some ice from the dining facility after my run and was able to ice it a few times before it melted; I'm also gonna hit the ibuprofen hard to nip this one quickly. | 
