Saturday, October 22nd

Weather - Sun was starting to come out.  43 degrees when I started.  Sunny and 57 degrees when it was over. ended.  Humidity didn't exist!

Clothing - Black running capri pants, Short sleeve tech shirt (rockstar shirt),  and Camelbak. 

Nutrition -   Ate a banana and cliff bar before the run. During the run:  75+ oz powerade/water mix. A GU at mile 4, mile 8, mile 12, mile 16 and mile 21..

Route -  Started at the intersection of Burke Centre Parkway on Ox Road.  Went 2.16 miles towards Braddock Rd and turned around.  Then went 9 miles down Ox to the Occoquan bridge and turned around. Once I got back to Burke Centre Parkway, I turned right on the road and went 2 miles down to Roberts. Turned around and did one loop of Lake Barton.  Came out on Burke Centre Parkway and went to the Kohls shopping center. Turned around and went down Oak Leather Drive for approx. 1/2 mile. Then headed home for the last 1/2 mile. I was all over the place! 

Distance Completed:  26 miles

Time:  Started at 6:50am, took a little more than 6 hours (not including the 1 stop I made).  Overall time was 6 hours, 13 minutes.   When I got to the 23 mile point, I was 23 minutes ahead from my last (horrible!!) long run. Yay!

Our little group had decided that doing a 26 mile training run might be a bit too much for us and we should scale it down to 20 miles.  When I woke up this morning, I planned to turn that 20 miler into 22.  But somewhere along the run, I decided to go for the 26.  There were a few factors in my making this decision.  I missed out going with The Girl's for Spa Weekend in Berkeley Springs because of this training run.  If I was going to miss that, I wanted to know I did everything I could to follow the training schedule.  Also, the weather was delightful and I was really enjoying being outside.  Lastly, I wanted my body to know what 26 felt like, so the next time I did this mileage (the marathon!), it would be more comfortable with it.  I read somewhere that if you are running 26, you should train for 26.  I now know that mentally I can do this.  Plus, I've got a good benchmark in how long it took me and I can work towards beating this goal.

I ended up going out on my own.  J.W. and T. both had various problems keeping them from running this morning.  I walked lots more than I should've.  But at this point, I just wanted to do it.  I don't care how slow I am.  Plus, I had a pain in my lower right leg that was with me when I started.  I was hoping that after a few miles, the pain would go away, but it actually got worse.

Anything I'd do different?   No.  This run went as well as could've been expected.  I am super happy that I am ending my long run training on a high note.  It's nice to erase that memory of the horrible 23 miler and replace it with a better long run. 

All my preparation worked.  The advil, the funky socks, the body glide, the clothing I wore.  No bad rubbing/chafing, no blisters, and I was perfectly dressed for the temps.  Yay!

Mid-week runs - ran 5 miles on Wednesday, ran 4 miles on Thursday; both on the treadmill at the gym.  Both were great runs.