3 weeks until the Marathon!

Coming up on mile 10-Keeping a good pace among the crowd

The man thought the picture was of him apparently!!

1/2 way done.......another 10 to go. I am feeling great! Pass me the GU Thomas!!

Finishing strong! A new Personal Best!!

I did it again!! Rain and all....Nothings going to stop this girl!!

After last weekends 20 mile race my knees were aching. I took it easy this week by taking Monday off and toned down my miles I was advised from other runners at the running room store. I also took their advice in getting a new pair of shoes to use until Marathon day. They say that training for a Marathon your shoes take a beating. So as they advised I got a new pair of shoes so I would have a fresh pair for the Marathon. That leads me to this weeks 20 mile race.
Lets just say I am feeling much better after the race today then I did last week. My knees are not as achy and my energy levels were better. It is amazing how much better you feel when you give yourself the proper energy. As I have been running miles that include more than a half marathon (13.1 miles) I have found that water and Gatorade are not enough to keep the body going. As I figured out last week when I felt that my energy levels were crashing after a half. So in preparation for today I ate the typical breakfast of a Gatorade, banana, and peanut butter toast. This time however I also had a cliff shot(also known as GU) I literally chocked it down with water. Not the best constancy or taste-it made me gag! I did this 30 min prior to the race. I also took another GU shot at the 1/2 way point. It really worked. I had more energy and was able to feel better during the race as a whole. It has been trial and error this past two 20 mile races and figuring out how I am going to make my body survive for 26.2 miles. I think a GU shot every 8 miles will keep me energized and give my body something to burn other than my lean muscle mass. It also helped that today was nice and cool. In fact there was a mist in the air and it even rained! It was not so fun for the spectators in the rain, but it was fun to run in. I was happy with my time and am happy with how I feel this time. I think it may have helped that after the race I soaked my legs in the nice cold lake that we ran around. Thanks to Thomas I have some pictures from the race. It is so great to have a wonderful husband who comes out to all my races to cheer me on and give me support, even in the rain! Go Thomas!!