Last night was the perfect long run preparation: lots of water, delicious food, and plenty of sleep.

Dinner wasn’t my normal pasta festival, but instead hamburger buns and pasta salad filled the carbohydrate requirement.

Our plan for last night’s easy dinner worked out perfectly! Everyone pitched in and within 45 minutes we had a delicious dinner including hamburgers, pasta salad, grilled squash, and the most amazing homemade pumpkin spice cookies ever! Don’t worry, I’ve already told my Rochelle that she has to share the recipe!

We spent the evening rocking on the front porch enjoying the stars, ocean breeze, and many different conversation topics. When I boded everyone goodnight at 9:45 I figured I’d miss out on hours of chatting and drinking. Instead, I started a trend and within fifteen minutes, everyone else followed.

My alarm went off at 5:45 and instead of being tired or ready to roll over, I was excited. I had a plan, goal, and motivation.

• Plan: Run 20 miles and break it into separate runs so it seems more feasible. Six miles on my own, pass by the house to pick up my friends, follow them for 9 miles, drop them off at the house, then finish the final five on my own.
• Goal: Finish 20 miles injury free and keep a pace of under 11 minutes. A year ago, I was running most of my long runs at an 11:30 to 11:45 pace.
• Motivation: The sooner I finish the run the quicker I can be on the beach and back with my friends.

You know you’re back in the South when your long run breakfast includes banana, peanut butter, and John Derst bread!

It was still pitch black when I left at 6:05, in fact I could barely see walking down the steps.

It was quiet, peaceful, and the perfect temperature for a long run, 65 degrees.

The street lights guided me for the first few miles and the sun rise guided me for the next few as I headed back towards the house to pick up my friends Rochelle and Chrissie. My first six miles flew by and exactly 63 minutes later I was at the door waiting for them to finish getting dressed.

Rochelle is training for her first half marathon and only had 9 miles on her schedule. I knew they were going to be faster than me but I didn’t realize how motivating it’d be to follow their swaying ponytails for 9 miles. With their motivation, I only stopped one time during those 9 miles and it was only to get a GU out of my Camel Bak.

We ran by a golf course, marina, and the gorgeous Carolina marsh before heading back towards the house. I took a quick bathroom break when we reached the house and was surprised how great I was feeling at the 15 mile point. My pace was right on target, 10:43, and I had gone through one Camel Bak of water and 1 GU by this point.

My final five miles were easier than I expected but just in case, I put on my pump up playlist, took one final Gu and really started to focus on the scenery.

I dreamed of living in these beautiful marsh front homes, waved to golfers, and enjoyed the sunshine. Running around Edisto Island reminded me of running through the community where Bo grew up in Savannah.

Even though I was feeling good, I was definitely elated to see this site! TWENTY MILES DONE!!

Unfortunately, math wasn’t my forte during today’s run, and I hit the 20 mile point a mile and a half away from the house. I spent the mile and half walk talking on the phone to Bo and my parents before diving into a frigid ice bath back at the house.

This is exactly the run I needed. My pace is right on target for my marathon goal, the ice bath and Arnica gel left my muscles and joints feeling pretty good, and I enjoyed every moment of the run!