Three 20-milers down, one to go

Today I went 21.5 miles in 3:02:31, a pace of 8:28 min/mile. I was 'only' supposed to go 21 miles but I missed a turn and before I knew it, I'd gone longer than I should have.

Still, I finished up strong, completing the last 6.5 miles right around my marathon goal pace, 8:00/mile. I felt so good that I completed the last 1.5 miles at 7:27 pace, just a tick faster than my half marathon pace from last week.

The run caps a 55-mile week, my second 50-plus mile week during this marathon training. I've got two more weeks of hard training to go before tapering, so I can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel (still not sure if its a train or not).

I'm using these final 20-milers to see what kind of fuel I can handle the day before and during the run. Like the last two 20-milers, I only needed one GU to get me through the run. But the day before this mornings run, I tried something different. I had my last meal 12 hours before the run (a baked potato stuffed with chopped bbq - no butter, no cheese, no sour cream). I ate so light because I usually feel sluggish during long runs when I eat heavy the night before, or too late.

When I eat too much, it takes me too long to get warmed up and my "system" just seems off for most of the first part of the run. But this morning, I felt pretty good. I was a little worried that I might "bonk" but I only needed the one GU. Even though it was in the 40s at the beginning of the run, I did wind up taking a few E-caps (three total) and thank God I had them. At mile 16 I was starting to tighten up, but I downed two with some water and was able to get the run over with in decent shape.