Finished the Eighteen Miler

Well, we finished our eighteen miler this morning. It seems like most people did pretty well - much better than the sixteen miler. I heard that Bobby had a rough day, though. But that's the way it goes. Sometimes you have good runs, and sometimes you don't.

On Wednesday I posted some tips for the eighteen miler. I guess I should give an update on how I did following the tips. You know, practice what you preach.

• Run slowly.... a minute or even two minutes per mile slower than your expected marathon pace. My planned marathon pace is 8:20 - 8:30. I ran about a 10 minute pace for most of the run, although I slowed down the last lap to keep with my running partner for the day. PASSED.
• Start off slowly and keep a steady pace or pick up your pace toward the end. If you are feeling really good, you can even speed up to your expected marathon pace in the last few miles. That will give you confidence. It is much better than dying and having to slow down at the end of a run. I actually slowed down the last lap, but that was because my training partner was struggling to keep pace. After we finished, I did an extra 4 miles at a quicker pace. Part if it was with Rusty, so you know it was quick. PASSED.
  
• Use gels or some other form of carb replacement during the run. Also drink during the run. I had watermelon Sport Beans, strawberry Shot Blocks, and blueberry roctane Gu. Every couple of miles I would eat a shot block or a sport bean or two, and I had the gu with about four miles to go. I felt like I had plenty of energy considering that I haven't slept well the last couple of nights. I definitely didn't drink enough during the run. My weight was down by six pounds after the run. HALF CREDIT.
  
• Eat well the day or two before the run - like you plan to do before the marathon. Nope, I didn't eat that well - double cheeseburger & fries for lunch, cheeseburger, potato salad, baked beans, and chips for supper. FAILED.
• Get plenty of rest the night or two before the long run. I got about seven hours sleep - spread out over two nights. FAILED MISERABLY.
• Drink plenty of fluids the day or two before the long run, and drink during and after the run too. PASSED.
  

After the run I went to my friend's and scraped and painted the outside of his house until about 5 or so. Boy was I pooped at the end of the day!

After that I went to see Fireproof with my wife and three of my daughters. It was sold out at Riverwalk and Cinemark, but we were able to get in at Starworld. The movie is about Caleb and Catherine, whose marriage is on the verge of a breakup. Caleb's father helps him to work through some of those problems by giving him a "love dare" book. The book challenges Caleb to show love to his wife in various ways over a forty day period. About halfway through the book Caleb is ready to give up because Catherine does not respond to any of his acts of love. He asks his father how anyone can keep loving when he is continually rejected. It is at that point that Caleb realizes he had been rejecting God over and over and over again, and he comes to faith in Christ. It was a very good movie. It had just the right mix of funny parts and sad parts, and at times the movie brought me to tears. I recommend it to all.

Here is the log of my running and biking for the last five weeks. I probably won't run again until October. I plan on doing a hilly 40 mile bike ride on Monday, and I may not even be able to run for a while after that.