20 miles.

20 miles is a long way to run in a single outing.

Due to only putting up 7.5 miles of running so far this week (the weather has been terrible and i HATE treadmill running) I decided to double it up and see what i could really do.

Finished the first 10 miles in 1 hour 17 minutes 7 seconds... my goal down the home stretch was to get under 1 hour 17 minutes... but even sprinting (what couldn't really be called a sprint after that distance) couldn't accomplish my goal.  I still managed to drop nearly 3 minutes off my previous personal best.

I stopped at home, grabbed some water, half a sandwich, and a piece of chocolate cake to refuel, and then it was out at it again, only I suckered my brother into running with me.  Mind you, he has NEVER run 10 miles straight before in his life, so we went at a slower pace.  Props to him... he finished in under 2 hours.  The progress he's made since I came home 3 weeks ago and started running together has been pretty incredible.

I dropped him in the last 2 mile straight-away and finished in an hour 40 minutes.  Pace was about 10 minutes a mile... as opposed to my normal 7:30 per mile i usually run in the long distance.  On the plus side, i'm absolutely confident i can finish a marathon easily, however, i've upped my goal from just finishing at 3 hours 30 minutes to breaking into the 2 hour zone.  I have until October 11th... only time will tell.

After the run i came home and sat down... big mistake.  Legs cramped up and the pain was something i haven't experienced until today.  Was going to ride my bike down to the lake for my 1.1 mile swim... but it took longer than anticipated to get going after the cramping incident, and i didn't trust myself to get back before dark... mixed with the fact i took the reflectors off, probably wouldn't have been a good idea.

So i drove.

I started feeling bad when i got to the water.  My body definitely started hating me... the energy reserves were tapped, and this was going to be a tough swim.

Started off good, got through it all, a lot stronger than the previous swims, but in the last quarter mile my calves and shins started cramping up.  Debilitating cramps... my calves felt like softballs.  Hobbled the last hundred feet or so into shore and finished in a time of 36 minutes... about 4 minutes faster than my previous best.

Didn't make it to the gym to lift legs tonight... instead, wolfed down a large pizza and soaked in a hot bath.  My legs are 'in sciopero' right now, and refuse to function whatsoever.

I really wanted to throw down another 10 miler tomorrow, but that seems to be up in the air... although, i keep telling myself that those who can endure the most pain will end up winning in the end.   So ya never know... I may be out there tomorrow yet.