Regarding training truths no beers the night before a long run or I will be stopping off at Burger King during my run which is gross, or improvising in an affluent neighborhood.

Your stomach is weak!

nipples are good, as well as the rest. 

 

Your stomach is weak!

Agreed as I get older. My marathon PR however was done the day after having 3 or 4  beers.

I've completed 17 full marathon training cycles, and I'm now working on my 18th. Still, I have no marathon training truths, other than this: when the mind goes rebellious, I'm done. Physically, I can follow my plan, but mentally, when I'm thinking that I've had it, I've had it. I have to take a few days off or else I will start hating what I'm doing. I need to feel in control of my training, NOT controlled by it. Aside from that, nipples are good, as well as the rest. No real complain about training for marathons, it's the same as training for any other distance (not that I would really know, though). 

 eighteen week cycles?

I have rarely encountered anything in training which approaches the misery of the last miles of a marathon. Granted, it is distinctly possible I have been doing it wrong. This will be the toughest training cycle I have put myself through so far, so we'll see.

In May of 2012, the Midwest experienced temps in the 90's for most of that month.  Well, the first weekend those temps hit came out of nowhere.  I was out on my first 20 mile run that Saturday morning and the temps went from the 60's at the start of my run to the 90's during it.  I was fine the first 10 miles but suffered unconscionably the last 10.

I was having severe hallucinations and just basically thought I was going mad.  I will never forget the drive home that day, I played it over in my mind how I was going to have to tell all my friends that I was not going to run my marathon the following month as I was totally convinced I had no business running it at that point.

To make a long story short, I had several runs that were miserable like that before ultimately running Charelvoix in 70 degree temps (50 at the start).  Those last 4 or 5 miles were pure fuckin hell and mile 25 was some shit out of a horror flick as it was uphill and I was just done for.  But when asked I always say that running a marathon was not the toughest thing I have ever done running-wise, training for one was.

I am older and a little bit wiser now so that probably is not the case anymore but yeah, MRT can be a mutha fucka.  lol

 

I have rarely encountered anything in training which approaches the misery of the last miles of a marathon. Granted, it is distinctly possible I have been doing it wrong. This will be the toughest training cycle I have put myself through so far, so we'll see.

How those last few miles feel all depends on what I did up to that point. I've had a few marathons where I felt miserable over the last few miles due to my own stupidity in running too fast earlier, but I've also had some where I felt strong and was passing dozens of runners and perhaps running some of my fastest miles of the race. Training is the same way. Sometimes I bit off more than I should have and didn't have the sense to override my stubbornness and stop - or didn't have a choice because I was still miles from home.

 

The night before a 12 miler I had a few shots of whiskey..........  don't think I could do that before a 3 hour + run.

Bah, YOUR stomach is weak.  A LR without alcohol the night before is not a good one.

And damn I'm on ABx and I need to do that tomorrow!