Got in a very good 17-miler today after the thunderstorms cleared out (second straight Saturday that the boomers arrived here at about 4:30 a.m.). Started the run at 6:22, did an 8.5 mile loop, then did the same loop again. It never rained on me, and the sun even came out for a moment, but it was upper-60ish, damp and not too windy. Only issue I had with it was the old sweat-in-the-eyes problem on the first loop, but after getting my headband at the midway point, that went away. I've acclimated myself at least to temps in the 60s and low 70s with fairly high humidity, so if race morning in Newport dawns 40ish as history suggests, I should be good to go with that; 48 will feel like 35. Anyway, I averaged sub-9 for the whole run, even counting a gel break and an answer-the-cellphone break (I'm on call until I get on the plane to Boston next Friday, so the electronic leash goes everywhere with me). Last two-miles plus were at GMP, even dodging downtown traffic, which was heavier than usual as the farmers' market is in high gear this morning. Any blow to my confidence from last Saturday's lackluster run was erased today. The run went really well, and the acceleration in the last 2+ felt good. Took two gels during the run, and the first one at about 6 miles really picked me up; I felt the legs respond to a fresh dose of carbs. Also took about 40 ounces of fluid, which is really not enough, but it got me through. I tend to drink more if its readily available, such as at aid stations every two miles on the course. One Amphipod bottle on each hip does not constitute readily available to me; I go through those too fast. Cruise through the rest of the taper, one more VO2 max session, a dress rehearsal next week in Boston, and lots of sleep and carbs for the next 14 days. Exactly 336 hours from now (that's 14 days for the math-challenged; it's 10:30 a.m. CDT), I should be almost halfway through the race at Newport. Which means, I hope, that exactly 338 hours from now, I will have punched my ticket to Boston 2010. | 