Last long run: 32km

Three runs after my last blog entry and before today: 12K on Sunday, 8K on Wednesday and 5K on Friday, and during all three I could feel that my right knee was not quite all right. My plan had a 5K jog on Wednesday and a 8K fast on Thursday, but other commitments lead me to switch distances (but not paces) and do a longer slower run on Wednesday, on completely unknown tracks. I saw water, for a change!

This was a natural reserve, a long tongue of soil cutting deep into the bed of the river, as the river widens and twists around it forming a sort of lake. It was so deserted that it freaked me out and I turned around and didn't go all the way. Those trees right on the shore seemed like the perfect place for rapists and murderers to hide their victims once they're done with them... I know, I know, very unlikely, but the movie in my head was just like that.

On Thursday, it just didn't feel right to do the 5K fast, as my knees had not been happy for the whole run the day before and still weren't happy then. I ran on Friday instead, no real pain but still feeling not quite right. 

And so we get to today and to the last real long run of this training program: 32km. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to make it, I could still feel the fatigue in my knees yesterday. 

I was prepared with many gels and two bottles of electrolyte, plus had organized to meet with my husband at the end of my first lap (15km) to get more drinks, but it wasn't necessary as it was quite chilly. Clear skies but only 8℃ when I left around 7:30am, and maybe 13℃ at the end of my run, 4 hours later. 

The hardest point was probably at 11km, my knees were unhappy and I still had such a long way to go... and, to say it all, I had to pee. Things got a lot better after the brief stop at my very private and very clean port-a-potty (read: "home"). I may really have to get one of those pStyle thingys to use during the marathon in not-so-private and especially not-so-clean port-a-pottys... 
Last 3km were pretty fast (actually the fastest of all except for the first one) because I just wanted to be home and get it over with. How dramatic is the influence of the weather on our runs!


Knees are killing me right now, although I can already feel that there's nothing wrong with the left one, just fatigue. The right one does give me a few worries, so I have abundantly iced it and I also took some ibuprofen, plus the usual menthol gel. What tomorrow brings, we shall see. 
Less than three weeks to race day.