Lessons in endurance

As most of you reading this know, I've been training for a marathon the last few months--the race is only 3 weeks from tomorrow. Today I ran 20 miles, the most I plan to do before the actual marathon. I made the decision (mistake?) to play some soccer yesterday, so I was already sore. I don't think that made the run any easier today :).

Thankfully, the weather was nice, and I ran in the evening cool, so in that regard things were peachy. Still, though, by mile 16 or 17 things were starting to get pretty rough. When I passed by any little store selling fruit or sweet drinks, I started just imagining what it would be like to stop the race and partake. Finally, I stopped and grabbed a pastry and a liter of juice. I sat down next to a nearby intersection, scarfed down the food and guzzled the juice, and got back up and kept running, this time with a half-full glass bottle of juice in my hands instead of the two mostly spent water bottles I carried before.

My time was 2:58, two minutes within the 3 hour goal that I had set for myself. I was pretty happy, but also pretty dead. I managed to walk to the park next door and lay in the grass for awhile, trying not to think of doing this again in three weeks.

Here's a little picture of what happens when you have a toenail that doesn't keep to itself. I hope you're not eating right now. :S


And finally, a picture of how beautiful I looked in the aftermath--thankfully for you, after I showered.


Now it's to bed, to bed for this sleepyhead. Good night :)