I mentioned the other day about the tough weekend I had upcoming, with my long runs and then visiting the Philly zoo. I can say that I survived, however I am quite tired. Thank heavens this is the last week before a stepback week (and vacation!) The whole weekend of running (and probably the week upcoming) is going to be brutally hot … yesterday was not too bad, but this morning’s 9-miler was brutal (even at 9am). I did okay in my first 18-miler for awhile, although I did start dying out towards the end. I know that I need to continue working on the longer run, and keeping my stamina, which i know is my big issue in the marathon. I can make it 13-15 miles, but I seem to die out after that.

The fact it was so hot, didn’t help, but it’ll only make me stronger. I tried a couple new courses as well, since I know its easier to run these distances on unfamiliar courses.

I am terribly tired though, as soon as I got back from my 18-miler (9:50am), I showered and got in the car and drove 2 hours … walked the zoo for 3 hours, then back in the car for 2 hours more… brutal. I did take lots of water with me to the zoo, however I don’t think I ate enough. I got home last night and was terribly dehydrated and very hungry. My head was pounding real bad too … after laying down for awhile, and having some ice cream, I felt better.

So I plan to do just 2 miles tomorrow, just as a warmup because I really am getting tired. I’m thankful that next week is a stepback week, means only 5 days of running and reduced distance. It’ll be a good chance to rest the body a bit … I certainly need it.

There isn’t much more exciting to say, but I just hope that tomorrow my legs don’t feel too bad! I’ve also decided that I probably will NOT run the Philly distance run in September. I don’t think it will fit into my schedule the way I would like it to … its disappointing, but I think its for the better.