ALMOST THERE

Over the weekend I ran my third and final 20 mile training run. Every marathon training cycle I try to run at least three of them, and this one was no different. They are definitely harder this time around versus in 2019 when my psoriatic arthritis was in remission. Towards the end of my 20 milers these days my pace drops, my heart rate elevates, and my knees throb. However, they are still "doable," so I do them. This last one was a little harder than it should have been because I ran both Wednesday and Thursday and on Thursday I pushed the pace at the group run. So on Saturday morning I wasn't feeling particularly fresh. Self-inflicted wound.

On marathon day, I'm feeling pretty confident I'll be able to finish without much issue. My long runs have been on par with any other marathon training cycle I've done. So I'm pretty confident on fresh legs I can get to 20 without issue. Every other marathon I would speed up on race day and run about 1:30/mi or so faster than my long run pace. That won't be the case this time around. I'll just be doing my normal long run pace. However, that doesn't mean the run will be any easier, because I've greatly neglected the weekday runs. Previously I would average 20 miles a week on three weekday runs, this time around I've averaging 8 miles on two weekday runs. Not that I'm slacking, that's about all my body can take when coupled with the long runs.

Last weekend's 20 miler. Four 5 mile spokes!

So anyways, I think the slower pace but lack of miles will largely balance out. It will probably be like a normal marathon where I can get to 20 okay and then the last 10k is an epic slog. I'm just hoping my legs don't give out in some fashion or I'm not in a ton of pain at the end. By the end of the 20 mile training runs I'm definitely in some moderate overall pain, so hopefully another 6 miles doesn't send me over the edge in. I don't think it will. Also, I can just walk. Who cares, this is a PW anyways and completing the marathon will be a triumph regardless of time. It's all gravy baby.

The taper has officially begun! I am just ready for the race to be here and over. I'll post a race preview at some point but mostly I am just worried about the weather. I need it to be dry if at all possible. I can handle cold, I can handle hot... I don't want to handle wet. You have to queue up in the start village like three hours before the race, so standing there for that amount of time in the pouring rain would be absolutely miserable.