Twenty miles!
Before the run this morning, our coach said that 20 miles was more of a mental challenge than a physical one. She was right.
Our course looped all around Shoreline and included three hills. Here is the first half and the second half.
I ran with the 10:00 pace group again, but our run/walk ratio was diluted even further to 4:1 for today's mileage. This means we ran at the same pace but walked more frequently, so the actual pace worked out to about 12 minutes/mile. We finished just under the expected four hours.
Thanks to some hard work in a new exercise program this week (crafted by Wella, of course), I didn't experience any of the knee problems that pained me during the last three long runs. Now I'm more secure about actually finishing the marathon. It's amazing what a few targeted exercises can do to your muscles.
Don't get me wrong: twenty miles was not a breeze. My legs were tired by mile 14 and I wondered whether I could finish. The question was underscored by the fact that the course went by the finish line first at mile 18, so anyone needing to skip the last 2 miles would be able to. At least one runner from our group said she would be stopping at 18. My legs hurt and the idea of stopping sooner seemed like a totally evil, disappointing, insidious, yet very tempting option.
When we came to mile 18, though, I was totally determined. Suffering what felt like defeat two weeks ago, I wanted a strong finish at 20 miles. So I decided that I just didn't care how much it hurt. We looped around Shoreline Rd, Charleston, and Amphitheatre Rd for the last two miles and even though everybody was sore, we finished 20 at full stride.
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