Heather & I ran from Veyo to "The True Church" on Bluff. 18 miles. Met up at 3:45 so I could be back for Toby's 8am soccer game. Yes, we must be crazy. When we got out of the car in Veyo we realized my flashlight was dead- I checked it at home and it worked- oh well...So it was a very dark run until about 6:30. I was worried we would trip, but luckily we didn't. My legs felt like bricks for the first 2 miles, but then everything was OK. I never felt great, I could tell I'd been sick this week-but I felt pretty good considering how my week started out. I felt slow the majority of this run. I put on my IPOD for 3 songs and felt my pace dramatically increase thanks to the distraction- but then the battery died (lesson to self- charge the dang IPOD!) So most of this run I was pretty slow. My ankles stayed a bit sore for the entire run, but not too bad- I was just aware of it. It was so dark that we missed 2 of our bags of drinks & goodies- but that was OK. I really wanted them to be more spread out anyway. So we made 3 stops for water and 1 porta potty stop. 3:10 final time inc. stops about 10:36 pace. Glad to mark it off the training list. Feel more prepared now that I've run more of the route. We plan on a 20 miler this next week, then I think we start tapering back down. Getting psyched for the marathon! Before I got sick this week I was starting to think I'd really like to try to break 4 hrs. I knew it was a long shot and I'm not feeling very optimistic since I've been sick. The predictors I use tell me to expect anywhere from 4:02-4:12. So I realize under 4 is really hopeful. I'll be happy to come in anywhere under 4:15, but breaking 4 would be awesome... | 