Man, that's a LONG way to run...

Wow, map out 20 miles on the streets you drive every day and you realize how insanely far that is! That's how I felt yesterday on DailyMile.com mapping my route for this morning's run. It's pretty cold out again, it was 42° when I started and only got up to 46°, which really isn't THAT bad, it was the wind that got me. Yes, a 13 mph wind from the East made it feel like it was insanely cold. It was a straight headwind for the first 6.2 miles, then it was a strong side wind with nothing to block it from mile 14 to 17.5. At mile 15 I was still WELL on pace to beat my 10:00/mile goal. Then came, what now that I'm home is kind of funny but not at the time, a giant cramp in my ass!! This is the downside of treadmill training for several months, I just wasn't ready for all the hills. That was quite painful, so I had to walk on and off quite a bit of the last 5 miles which dropped me from hitting my goal. I ended up averaging 10:21/mile, so not too far off my goal. I got through it in 3:27:57, and I'm glad I got to get in a 20 miler outside before the Napa Valley Marathon two weeks from tomorrow. I feel strong and confident that I'll survive the marathon and hopefully do well time-wise. Here is the link to the run in Garmin Connect: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/69062119

On another note, I've decided what my reward will be when I finish the marathon! I'm of the opinion that it's important to reward yourself with something you normally can't justify the cost of when you accomplish something big for the first time. Last night Kristy (my wife) and I went to Gary Gribble's Running Sports (a local running specialty shop here in town). I LOVE that store! Great people that are truly passionate about running and talking about running. Anyway, they had a sale on shoes which meant my wife HAD to spend as much time as possible trying on every shoe in the store, that's what she does and it really cracks me up. She's like a little child on Christmas morning when she finds shoes on clearance or sale, very cute. Anyway, I used the time I had to kill to find one of the sales people that wears Vibrums and I tried on a few different styles of them. They allow you to jog around the shopping center to try out shoes and WOW!!! They felt amazing!! I am looking forward to treating myself to a pair of Vibrum Bikilas when I get back home after the race!! I can't wait!!!

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