20 miles

This weekend did not allow the typical amount of cooking that I usually get to do because I was running 20 miles on Saturday. T-W-E-N-T-Y miles. Yes, it's as long as it sounds. The day was COLD and super windy, with winds up to 20mph that blew the entire run. It took me a bit longer than I wanted (I was shooting for 4 hours and landed at 4:22), but I chalk that up to the wind and my sudden desire at mile 18 to QUIT!!! Oh my goodness - if it wasn't for little Nathan cheering me on and reminding me that I could do it, and the knowledge that I would HATE myself if I stopped at 18, I would've been done right then and there. But I soldiered on and finished! Whew!

I run a 1/2 marathon (13.1) in two weeks, and then on March 24, I will run 23. A couple weeks after that, I will run 26, and will then let my body rest with short 7 milers for three weeks, and then MARATHON day will be here! I can't believe it's so close. It's freaking me out a bit. But in a good way. I'm looking forward to getting it over with, and yet, not.

My body is taking a bit longer to recover from this run than the previous long runs, so I'm trying to take it easy on my workouts until I have recovered properly. My early morning workout today was a bit of a wake-up call for my legs, but they managed to pull it out. Tomorrow, I will tackle 2-3 small miles and see how I do.

I hope to be cooking some new stuff this week, and tomorrow, my menu planning begins in EARNEST for my favorite upcoming holiday, St. Patrick's Day! More to come on that.