It snowed Friday. And it was cold, so I didn’t run. Honestly, I was just beat. After 8 weeks of punishing miles, I needed a day off. Glad I did because my legs were fresh for my Saturday 20 miler. This was my final training 20 miler. Seven weeks in a row running 20 miles on Saturdays. It feels good to have them behind me.

You generally include a few long runs in a marathon training plan for two reasons. To train your body to burn fuel efficiently and to gain confidence with the distance. Man am I ever confident after today. I ran an 8:49 pace. That’s my fastest pace for any run at any distance over my entire 8 weeks of training, and it was for 20 miles. I know I could have held it for another 10K. That makes me confident I can break 4 hours in the Colorado Marathon in two weeks.

That pace would be a 3:51 finish. 3:50 qualifies me for Boston. I feel like I can do it. Of course, being accepted to run Boston will likely take something under 3:45, and that would really be a stretch, but confidence has a way of making things happen.

I’m spending the rest of day ensconced on the couch with my legs stretched out on the ottoman and my MacBook in my lap. I know when to push myself and when to recover. Enjoy your Saturday.