My last long run of the marathon training cycle was a couple weekends ago now. This was the run I was waiting on before I made a decision on signing up for a race. I wanted to feel good after hitting a 20 mile run and then I would feel good about signing up for a marathon with 3 weeks to taper. I made it about 8 miles in before I realized my body was not - and is not - ready for a marathon. My legs were cooked. The problems on this run were largely to do with the fact that