Well, I've done it. I ran today the longest long run that I will run before the marathon. 20.4 miles through Spencerport and Hilton. It was so cold! High of about 16 degrees, and with the windchill, it was 5 out. But, it was sunny and snowing lightly (very light - nice big flakes), so that was good. I ran to my grandma's, which was just under 8 miles. I had left a gatorade bottle on the porch, so I picked that up. I also took a GU Energy Gel (these gooey sugar things that provide some carbs and sugar and are great for long distance running) at that point. Somewhat bizarre (not really solid or liquid) tasting, but it was great for a boost. The run through Hilton was a bit boring (I stayed on the same road for about 2 hours), but it was fine. Then, I ran up to my driveway, grabbed another GU and Gatorade, and kept going (I had hit about 15 miles at that point).
The last 5 miles were starting to get to me a bit. I was fairly cold at that point, but I kept trucking through. When I only had a few more turns to go, I started to pick it up - I just wanted to finish, cool down, get home, and hop in the shower. I finished in 3 hours and 12 minutes, which meant ny pace was 9:21 per mile. Slightly slower than my estimated race pace, but I'm going to hope that I'll be able to pick it up in 3 weeks. I think that the cold slowed me down a bit, too.
I walked around my neighborhood for my cooldown, and that's when the soreness sank in. I walked a lot, stretched out, and took a good shower. But I have a feeling I'll be a bit sore tomorrow. However, I'm glad I was able to do it, and with relatively little difficulty (the cold was the big snag...I was hoping it would be around 30). I think, had someone been there, I could've kept going for a couple more miles. I'm going to have a nice dinner now, which is going to taste so good.
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