taper week 1 - not really a taper

i know it's gross! but as a friend said, it's a rite of passage!

monday -6 miles - easy pace and no pain!

tuesday - 6 miles - hilly route with no pain, and in THE RAIN! yes, it rained and i was soaked! i believe this is the second training run over many months where i ran in the rain. been that dry here!

thursday - 8 miles - hilly route, tempo pace against the wind, no pain, great finish time :) i've had pain in the second toe on the right foot - it's about to turn purple for the third time. but the second toenail on my left foot just slid right off today. it was sooo weird since it didn't hurt!

today (monday) - didn't get a chance to run this weekend - just too busy with the family! so i saved the last long run for today. it was supposed to be 12 miles, but i felt so good and it was just so nice out so i stopped by the house for more water and told them i was going a few more. when i came back, i was at 17 miles. so i told my man that i wanted to go three more miles, and he said go for it! since i could take it easy for the next 13 days. so i ran 20 miles. i felt great - NO pain! i have confidence now that i can get through this marathon in under 5 hours. it will be hilly, but i know i can do it and just want to have fun. my goal of doing 3 20 mile runs this training time around was to get my feet used to being pounded that long! at the marine corps marathon, my feet hurt so incredibly bad from miles 21-26.2. it was the worst feeling ever - like lead. and my calves too. i hope i've acclimated a little better this time around and it won't be so awful once i go past 20 miles at the marathon.