...that Saturday's 20-miler went well, but...it didn't. I'm still not sure why -- perhaps it was the cold weather, the fact that I had to get up at 5 a.m. to run, my annoying baby bladder or the boredom of running alone, but...come 17 or so miles, I was sick of it and I didn't want to run anymore.

This doesn't bode well for a woman facing a 26 mile race (that I have to run faster than a training run) in a month.

To be honest, it shook my confidence -- that crappy long run. But an older and wiser runner than I tells me it's normal to feel beaten up and beaten down by this marathon training plan. It's about building strength by pushing to the limits, resting slightly and then pushing again.

Well, It's a good thing I've only got another 20-miler left -- not this weekend, but next -- because I think I've about reached my limits.

This week, I recover with: Monday 5 miles, Tuesday 6 miles, Wednesday 5 miles, Friday 6 miles, Saturday 12 miles.

Next week, I push again with a 50-mile week and then, I start to taper.

While I was doing my long-run Saturday, I saw a bunch of ERC folks headed down the Bayfront Connector to the Poker Run at Presque Isle. You can see results for the Poker Run 5K here. I hear they had a good turnout.

Next up is the Law Day 5K on April 28 -- it's one of the only races in the city of Erie (let's just say the city has made it more than difficult to host races in town). More information is available here.