Long, tough run but hit the big 50

It's in the books, my first 20 miler since last marathon training season. This one didn't go the greatest but I did the mileage, spent three hours on my feet. That's valuable training time.

I'm sure that two races yesterday took a little out of me, but I basically ran both races on a hilly course at a strong but not at an all-out pace.

What's good about the training is that my totals for this week is finally up in mileage. I was supposed to do 55 miles but have done 50 after today's run. Not bad at all.

On today's run, I decided to hit the Leslie Spit and it was pretty good. I do know that it's not a good idea to go on a three-hour run with three small bottles of Gatorade. I was really disappointed that the water fountains were not turned on yet. I'm going to have to figure out a better plan to get hydrated. I really felt weak and tired during the last 10K, which isn't good. The only consolation is that I know with proper rest and hydration I can do 30K at a good pace, as I did last week at the Around the Bay.

I'm finally coming to terms with this marathon training -- Mississauga will not be a target marathon. I'm not even sure what pace I'll do but with the lack of quality work and three weeks of training put off by sickness, I'm going to have to face up to reality that I'm not ready for an all-out effort. I'm not down to optimal weight as well.

So, the plan is to continue running, use Mississauga as my next big race, but to get me to June when I can start real training. I'm actually not that disappointed that I'm not where I am last year, just want to avoid burnout.