I've been on a roll, lately. All my workouts have been a little better than planned, and my races have been a lot better than my target times. It's been the kind of year that I wish on everyone at RA. Until today. 20 miles at a 9-minute pace, which turned out to be a 9:30 pace with the last few miles closer to 11. I was surprised I even did that well. My legs were protesting from early on. At around mile 8 or 9, I thought how it wouldn't be so bad to cut today's run down to maybe 18 miles, or perhaps 15. But I managed to HTFU and last all 20 miles. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. (Maybe I should take off, but that screws up the schedule for the rest of the week, including a long run in Central Park on Saturday. I will take off Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (and tomorrow if I'm not feeling up to it). I hope everybody had a better day of running than I did.

The long runs do get easier. My first 18 was torture but my last 20 was great.

That's the thing. I've had a few 20s and 18s. They've felt pretty good. I have one more 20 in two weeks, and then I start tapering to November 22, the (innaugural) Rehoboth Beach Marathon in Rehoboth, Delaware. I'm hoping to hit 1,000 on Wednesday because it means I'll finish at my karate studio an hour before my class. My DD Sofia will make sure the whole studio knows. They're a really supportive bunch--like RA but face-to-face--so I'll be running 10 knowing that I've got a great reception ahead. Good luck recovering. How soon until your race?