A Good Run & A Good Read {Marathon Update 3}

Eighteen miles...yes I rocked it...18.1 miles in 2 hours and 51 minutes.  I'm tired, I'm achy...I lost a toe nail...but I did it.  In addition, I did short tempo runs 4 days this week.  With that I was able to hit a few new records: farthest run, longest running time, and most miles in one week.  How did I do it?  I have to say, being more conscious of my diet really helped.  I focused in on more fruits and less processed food this week.  The night before my run, my hunnie and I enjoyed homemade hamburgers (with a slice of melted havarti on top) and a salad made with greens from our own garden...and a homemade cupcake for dessert.  My pre-run breakfast included homemade cranberry bread with peanut butter on top and low-fat yogurt with blackberries and raw walnuts on top.  I set my run on a "Figure 8" route.  I did 9 miles out-and-back to my car in one direction, and then 9 miles out-and-back in the opposite direction.  This worked out great...halfway through the run, I made a quick stop to the car where I finished off an energy gel, ate a few grapefruit slices, and gargled down some water before I ventured out for the latter half of the run.  Also along the run I munched on a few cubes of Clif Bar.  With this, I physically felt a lot more energized throughout the run.  On the last couple distance runs, I spent at least 60% of the time thinking about how far I had to go and how tired I was.  So yesterday I decided I needed something to conquer the mental challenges of running 18 miles.  To clear my head and keep my motivation up, I let myself escape into the snowy world of "Ethan Frome". 

"Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton, is a sad romance, set in Victorian New England.  It was one of the reads from high school that I remember actually enjoying.  Its a pretty quick read, so after almost 3 hours of running, I had made it through Chapter 7.  This tactic worked out perfectly...I was so focused on the narrative, and the end of each chapter left me desperate for more that before I knew it, I was nearing the 14 mile mark.  Running for 2+ hours leaves you feeling as though your missing out on the day, but being able to enjoy a good read at the same time made me feel like I was able to accomplish a lot more than just an 18 mile run.  Now I wonder what would be a good read to enjoy during my marathon?

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