20 Mile Run!!!

So yesterday was my last long run before the big race on May 2. I went out to a trail with a friend who is also training for the marathon. The weather was beautiful! We left around 8:15 and it was probably in the upper 40's with a clear, crisp sunny sky. I had to wear pants, which I wasn't actually expecting, but I have some favorite running pants, so no big deal. We started out at a parking lot at mile marker 4 on the trail. We ran down to mile 10, and then we turned around and came back to the car. I had a Gu at my 6th mile, and then again at mile 12. We had to refill our water bottles at mile 12 as well, so I got in a little stretch.

The second portion of the run was from mile 4 down to the beginning of the trail and back. I would say the first 3 miles of that felt great! So basically, I ran 15 miles feeling like a million bucks! Okay, maybe not quite a million, but definitely feeling good! I was getting some blisters on the insides of both of my feet, but I actually need those so they'll callous over by race day. Once we were getting up to mile 16, I was feeling tired! My friend was super supportive though, and we cheered each other on through the rest of the run! At mile 17, we even started Jersey fist pumping to get some energy back in us! We finished up mile 20 in 3 hours and 37-ish minutes, which is 3 minutes faster than I had figure for us. We spent a good amount of time stretching and then we headed home!

I have to admit that we decided to go for a celebratory beer afterwards. Could not resist! We were all sweaty and gross but who cares??? If anyone asked, I could say, "I JUST RAN 20 MILES!!!" Woo hoo! I had a yummy steak dinner later on with a grilled filet mignon, a baked potato, and green beans and tomatoes with garlic. Love it!

And the best part about all this is that I feel great today! I can tell I ran 20 miles yesterday but I am not hurt and I am not really all that sore! I'll warm myself up a bit later and get in some good stretching so I'm not sore tomorrow either. Now I get to taper off and reduce my mileage over the next 3 weeks so I'm rested and ready to go!

Hope you had a healthy weekend!