Seriously???

Wow, 20-milers suuuuuuuuuucccccckkkkk. Or at least mine did today. It may have been worse than the one I did last spring on the same route. Just like last time, miles 14-20 were brutal. But in terms of physical pain, it was worse this time. My ankles. My knees. My right foot. My hips.

I realize that the hilly course I did the two terrible 20's on is probably not the best course for a 20-miler. One of the training books I read says that you should avoid a hilly course for the long runs. Hills on medium and short runs are great. I'm not training for a particularly hilly race anyway.

Running that half-marathon 6 days ago HARD was probably a mistake. (A personal record-breaking mistake, but a mistake still.) And running the 5 extra miles probably wasn't my smartest move, either. It left me pretty beaten down for my 20 today. My mileage for the week was a ridiculous 49 miles, technically. It just happened that 2 long runs fell within 7 days.

Anyway, I got them done. I just hope there isn't any permanent damage. It's a little late to get stupid about my training!

Do I REALLY have to do another 20-miler in 3 weeks? Seriously??