2 down, 14 to go*

Second week of marathon training = success. Ran 3, 3, 2.5, and 8 for a total of 16.5 miles. It's been a long, long time since I've done an eight-miler, but the run felt pretty okay. Afterward was a different story. I was bone-tired, nauseous, and headachy. Could have been a touch of heat stroke, I guess, though I didn't think Saturday was particularly hot or humid.

Thankfully, this week is a cutback week. (Many marathon training plans call for weeks where you step back your mileage, giving your body time to recover and prepare for the next increase in mileage.) On tap: 4, 3, 3, and 5 for a total of 15 miles.

Things I learned this week:

• Pick-ups are a fun (and less complicated) way of adding some speed training.
• A leaky water bottle may not seem like such a bad thing on a hot day (water dripping down your back is a great way to stay cool, right?)--until you run out of water two miles from home.
• Running shorts with pockets *do* exist. And I'm not talking about that lame-ass, completely useless, interior key pocket either.
• Gels are not to be feared, but chocolate is much more palatable than raspberry.
  
• It is possible to reach a point where crossing paths with a deer on a sidewalk in a residential neighborhood becomes old hat and somewhat uninteresting.
  

*We will soon reach a point where this weekly subtraction is beyond my math skills.