All Legs Report In

20.43 Miles. Mission Accomplished. I finally did it. A new PR for distance.

This last Saturday, I got my butt up at 4:30 AM for the longest run on my training calendar...a 20 miler! Going into the weekend, I knew it was going to be hard to get this one in. My wife and her two sisters (and the significant others) and myself, we're all headed to Napa for some wine tasting (OK, drinking) and we were scheduled to leave at 9:00 AM. I knew I wouldn't be able to run later in the day (due to not functioning). Sunday I had a golf tee time planned already with some old friends from San Jose, so early Saturday was the only chance.

Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad getting up and getting out. Weather was almost perfect for a long run...cool, but not cold where I'm bitching every few minutes. Started out at 5:00 AM running six 2-mile loops around the neighborhood. (~ 8:33 min/mi). At this point I was bored of the loops and also wanted to get off the pavement so I headed out to the levee for the final 8+ miles. The best part of this run was running on the levees with no wind. (Another benefit of running in the early morning). Once I hit the final mile, my IT Band started to feel like it was on fire and I struggled to get to the end. In the end, it took me 2:58 to finish the 20.43 miles (~8:42 min/mi). Took a seat in the pool for 10 minutes and then got ready for some wine adventures. Happy to say, the body felt pretty good the rest of the day. Just made sure that I drank plenty of water along with the plenty of wine.

Today (Monday), begins the downhill portion of the training schedule. This week is fairly similar to what I've been doing (minus about 8 or 9 miles) and then we really taper the final two weeks before the race (I can't wait). So here's what's on tap for the next few days:

Today (4/28) - XT for 60 minutes - Think I'll try the "Angie" Crossfit workout from last week - 100 pull ups, 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats for time. That should keep me busy for awhile. Maybe hit the pool and just float around for a few laps.
Tues. (4/29) - Quality day - 8 x 800 @ 8:00 min/mi pace + 90-second recovery walk/jog
Wed. (4/30) - Easy 6 miles (Miles loves these)

Talk soon...