Better to DNF a 20-mile training run than the marathon.
My Achilles tendons were pulling again. And my lower hip bones were starting to hurt they way they did in the Vermont Marathon. This was an hour *after* I'd taken 3 Excedrin.
And before I started, I'd talked to our son in Maryland, and he was taking my mother (who's 86) to the ER. And around mile 8 he called and said she was being admitted with pneumonia.
And when I got to the end of my first 10-mile loop, I just didn't have what it took to do another go-around. Not with my feet and hips already acting up. And not if I was supposed to stop at the grocery store afterwards to pick up some things. And not if I want to fit in another 20-miler somewhere in the next couple weeks and still make the marathon.
I had set my watch to beep every 25 minutes, and each time I walked a little while drinking from my Camelbak, and every other time I took electrolytes and an Accel Gel. I'm pleased to report that despite some walks and a couple stops (pit stop, phone call) I was able to keep an even pace, running each 25-minute segment in exactly 25 minutes ;-P
