An old joke.

Today was a long run before the Denver Marathon, Oct 19. I needed 20 miles, but I decided to run 26.2 more-or-less gently. I tried running 11 minute miles, but that was too hard; instead, I ran to the mile markers, walked one minute, repeat.

I had a 1/2 marathon split of 2:18 and wanted to run some negative splits, but in the event, I ran the second half in the same time, finishing at 4:36. Still, I was proud to maintain a steady pace and not drop off at the end. It was odd to run the last six miles with “gas in the tank”. Normally, I am completely whipped at 20+ miles and can barely move at all.

I plan to take it easy next week, and then try another long run two weeks from tomorrow.