I ran twenty miles yesterday...

Wow! I really did it! 20 miles... The first twenty of the Boston Marathon. Could I have done 26.2? Probably. I am not going to say that it was easy, but I really did have a good day. I was anxious when I got to the community center. I was bus sick on our way to Hopkinton, and my calf just ached for the first five miles. However, I ran really well - 9 and 1 the whole time, and I only started to slow on the last few hills - which are definatley the hardest of the course; outside of Heartbreak Hill. My time was 4:24... That's a 13:12 pace and right on track to finish in under 6 hours... my absolute ultimate goal outside of finishing. My friend told me that if you get in under 6 you get your name in the Boston Globe... oooooo.... famous!

I had my MP3 player, but I never turned it on... I think I just may leave it home on Marathon day. It was kind of nice to just focus on the goal at hand... When I got to mile 15 my coach said that the last 5 were the most important of training. I just tried to zone in on finishing... getting to 20 before 4:30... I did it! My sister is going to run the last 10 K of the marathon. She's the oldest and can get a little bossy, but I think its going to really help me stay on track til the end... I am a little worried...

I have dreaded the training days - going long - 16, 18 miles... but now I am excited. We've officially started the TAPER... I really am going to do this!