Today my goal was to run 20 miles in preparation for the marathon. I got up this morning at 6 am. That turned out to be a good decision, because it was cool and a gorgeous morning. I didn't need (partially because I couldn't find a place to get it) water until mile 19, so that tells you how much less I sweat today compared to Thursday. Anyway, I turned on my Garmin, and it said the battery was low. Bummer!! I thought it would have plenty of juice. So it only lasted a mile. Then I had to go by how far I thought it would be based on what I had seen on Google Maps last night. And I wasn't sure what my pace was going, so I just ran what felt right. I went north via 1000 East, Creek Rd, Highland Dr, Bengal Blvd, 2300 East, and Holladay Blvd, up to 4500 South. Then returned the same way. I felt soooo good the entire way. It was nice to run among trees and little traffic and hills but not too many. It was nice to see a few other runners out, too. Couldn't have been more beautiful. At the end I felt a little sore but not that tired. When I got home, I mapped out the specific route I took, and according to Google it was 22.5 miles! I ran extra without even knowing it. And the crazy thing was that I felt like I could have kept going another 5 or 10 without a problem. So maybe things are starting to come together. I'm going to call it 22 miles just in case Google was off. It took me exactly 3 hours, with about 5 miles of stoppage. So that would be about 8 minute pace. I ate some GU Chomps three times along the way. It was easiest to eat while running downhill because I could just go on autopilot. I also ran into a big dog with big teeth that barked at me a lot. It went on long enough that I started to lose my temper. Good thing the dog gave up at about that point! But at least it gave me an adrenaline boost going up the hill. Bottom line: this was the best run of the year for me. It has given me a lot of confidence for the marathon. This was an awesome week of running. 65 miles. That's more than I've run in a week since I was 18. Next week will be lower mileage. | 