The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sale that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

Well, that’s what I did today, a three hour tour. Because that’s how long it takes me to run 18 miles. Not speedy but it went really well. At mile six I was hobbled by a mystery cramp in my left leg but I managed to stretch/walk it out and it helped to change my pace to a shorter quicker stride. By mile eight I settled into a comfortable groove and I was mightily surprised by how good I felt for the duration. I ate a couple of power gels along the way and made use of every water fountain on my route.

Still standing after 18 miles!

I think hydrating properly is the main reason today’s long run was so successful. Yesterday I was in the recording studio and as the sound engineer watched me gulp down my fourth tall glass of water in two hours he said, “Gosh, you’re really serious about this water thing. Doesn’t that mean you have to pee about a million times a day?” Well, yeah. But it also means every cell in my body has all the water it needs and it makes the difference between a successful long run or crumpling in a heap o’ hurt beside the curb halfway through.

These long runs are good tests for gear in preparation for the actual marathon. I wore these shoes on a beach run a few days ago and thought I’d shaken out all the sand. Not so. Somehow residual grains sifted through my socks and settled irritatingly between my toes so I had to stop in the park, remove the shoes and shake it all out. Also the tape on my toes began to unwrap and cause blisters so that had to go, too. So now I know that the actual shoes I wear for the marathon can NEVER visit the beach and I’ll need to wrap the toes in a less haphazard manner next time.

Aside from light-headedness, a few small blisters on my toes and muscle soreness in the legs I feel surprisingly good and it gives me hope that marathon day will go well!