Week 4 Marathon Training Complete

I am a marathoner! And I finally felt like one this past Saturday. If you recall, my 7 miler was a horrible experience. Then again, so was everyone's run that day. It must have been the unusual humidity that day. Anywhoo, our 8 miler this past Saturday was an awesome run for all four of us. I felt hydrated, i hydrated throughout the run, took 800mg Motrin before the run, and all was well. I even sped up on the last lap (2.5 mile lap). It would be tough for me to describe the feeling after that run. It was perhaps the first time all four of us had a realization that we really will finish this marathon. I remember thinking during my 7 miler that there was no way I could do 8 the next week. Now, after doing the 8 miler, I cant wait for the 10 miler this Saturday. The book talks about creating two mental "video tapes." These are used during moments of weakness throughout the marathon to keep your mind off the pain when you hit "the wall." I remember coming down the straight 1/2 mile finish this past Saturday picturing the finish line of the actual marathon. I definitely cannot describe the awesome feeling as I pictured that. I realized the importance of that mental "video tape" and how awesome that real life marathon finsih will be because I am a marathoner! This week we ran 3, 5, 3, 8 for a week's total of 19 and a training total of 67 miles!