Less than a month to go...

There are 25 days until the St. George Marathon!  Holy smokes.
I'm a little anxious, but I know I can do it.  This week is my last week of real training.  After that, it will be tapering down the load and maintaining what I have gained all summer.  As of today, I have logged 1022 miles of running for 2011! I feel ready, especially after the run I had today!

oh yeah.

This afternoon I did my last super long run before the race.  I was getting ready to go out running, and Sam asked me how far I was going to go. "Either 10 or 20 miles, I haven't decided".  Well, I got to mile 8 and I had a lot left in me, so I figured I would carry on. (Getting long training runs out of the way early in the week is the best, especially since we have a fun weekend away in the works!) At mile 18 I ended up back at the house (we were with Mom and Dad White in Alpine), and I could have easily just stopped there, but instead I dropped off my stuff in the garage and kept on going without the iPod and other stuff.  At this point I knew that every step was a new distance record for me, which pushed me along at a great pace.  My watch beeped 20 miles, and I felt like I could just keep going.  I probably could have, but I made myself walk the rest of the way back.  Oh man, my legs started burning so badly on the walk home.  Was that ever a good thing to find out!  Come marathon time, after mile 20, I can't start walking or I won't be able to start running again!  The best part, though, is that I maintained my race pace the entire time, even with the hills and wind.  I think I'll make my marathon time goal in October!

So there you have it.  I probably won't make it up the campus hill tomorrow, but I think I have a good reason.