You want a real running stud, check out this guy: http://mm.littlemarathon.com/MyMarathons.asp?ManiacId=111 That's 58 marathons and 6 ultras...this year! Kids, don't try this at home. For me, 13 marathons and 2 ultras this year, but some I treated as long runs with support where I didn't go all out, so not so much wear and tear, and my total yearly mileage is not really that high compared to some RA'ers. As far as my times go, I ran a tough race (Flying Monkey) in a pretty good time, then PR'ed at another tough race (Tucson) two weeks later. Tucson is fast, because it's downhill, but that does not mean it's easy. My running log shows that I took 6 days off after Tucson, because it really hammered my legs and it took me that long to recover. Even longer than Crater Lake, and that's a tough course! Then I made a last-minute decision to run Jacksonville which in retrospect was kind of stupid. Three marathons in four weeks. But like my mama used to say, "Stupid is as stupid does". Besides, I had another reason for running it: http://www.runningahead.com/forums/topic/ee506c787b9a4a8caab3d2c3b16a700a Without writing a complete race report, here are my quick impressions: It was very, very humid, it had rained all night, and was still misting just before the start. I felt nauseous before the start, started too fast, and by mile 6 I was sweating so much that I looked like a sprinkler and already knew it would be a very long day. By 10m I had slowed dramatically and realized that "finishing" was the goal. It went downhill from there and the last half was a death march. The effort required to maintain even a slow pace was much higher than it should have been. This feeling was confirmed by my heart rate monitor, which showed a HR much higher than it normally should be at that pace. At each mile marker after 16 I walked for a hundred yards or so then resumed a painfully slow run to the next mile. For the first time ever, I started to think about dropping, but then what am I going to say, "I'm tired"? I don't think so. I even had some brief cramping in my hamstrings and calves, and I have never experienced cramping in a race before. "HTFU" was the word of the day! Had it not been for the weather front moving through around mile 16 with its dry, cooling wind, I might have DNF'ed. Really. I felt like this guy crossing the finish line: Dorando Pietri, 1908 Olympic Marathon I must say that the Jacksonville Marathon is a really great race, well-organized, well-supported, a good value, and a nice, pretty, shady, flat and fast course. All the problems this day (except the humidity) were my own. So, long story short, what happened to me on Sunday? (Too late for that, but here goes...) I think my body just said, "enough". 14 marathons/ultras this year, the Monkey (hilly, tough course), then Tucson (downhill, PR, really hard on the legs) 2 weeks later, then very little running for 2 weeks and another marathon that I started out too fast. I guess I just found my limit. No serious damage was done, and I learned from it, so, no regrets. That's the thing about the Marathon. It's like a good Martial Arts Master, just when you think you've figured it out, it slaps you and knocks you on your butt. And that's all I have to say about that

I should explain the photo of Dorando Pietri, for those who aren't familiar. He was well ahead in the 1908 London Olympic Marathon but was so exhausted that he collapsed a number of times in the last hundred yards and was helped up and assisted across the finish line. He was disqualified because of it. Anyway, that's kind of how I felt Sunday. Strange thing, one of my best races was on very little sleep, jet lagged, hadn't eaten much the night before and nothing before the race but horrible instant coffee, but I ran great. Go figure!