Today's run for me was 14-18 miles according to the plan -- 14 miles for the "I just want to finish" beginner and 18 for the "I want to finish in decent time" beginner. I do just want to finish, but I can't always measure the distances perfectly, so this provides me a range to shoot for (and know when I'm definitely overdoing it).

I will have to bike the same route I ran to know how long it was exactly, but I went from home to the trail, got on the trail just after mile marker 4, went to mile marker 9, then turned around and came back. About 9-10 trail miles, plus the to/from home distance, which is probably 3 miles. That puts me at about 16 miles, smack in the middle.

I ran out of water for the last return 3 miles, so I decided to take it easy and walk. For the other 13, I ran until it was food time (every 15 minutes or so, or 30 with a gel), took about a minute to eat (clif bloks/gels/sport beans)/drink while walking, then started up again. My next run is 16-20 miles, which will take me right to a shopping area so I can stop and fill up with water at about halfway. That means taking a break, but for those longer distances, it might be necessary.

I behaved myself very well and was in my target zone almost the whole time (except the last walking time). I found out my heart monitor doesn't beep for any more 15-minute intervals past 2 hours... I guess it figures after 2 hours you must know what you're doing! Usually I misbehave enough to not get that far, either stopping for breaks or more likely overexerting.

This was my first true long run in several weeks, I was doing bricks which meant shorter runs paired with the biking, then the tri, then I felt pretty well burnt out and decided to listen to my body and take it a little easier, replacing long runs with long rides. The marathon might disagree with that decision, but I am only halfway through the training plan, and I am sure I'll make it.

At this point my body says one thing: feed me! I iced my legs, drank some chocolate milk, and took a shower. Food time!!!