Twin Cities Marathon - the last long run

Note: Written Sunday Sept.18

Experienced runners know that the time for logging heavy mileage is done. Inexperienced runners think they still have 2 weeks left to train. Realistically this Sunday (the 18th) was the last chance to put in a quality long run, and so around the Minnetonka streets and trails the runners numbers now dwindle. Still a few runners can be seen with headphones, water bottles, and heart rate monitors strapped on like cyborgs on a last mission before the big one. You can watch them taking physical and mental inventory. "Will this strained achilles hold up?", "Should I press the pace today?", "Will my nipples bleed during the race?", ....or the most ubiquitous: "What the blank am I doing this for?"

I took some photos of these runners, but frankly I did not feel fair posting them. One runner I talked with was walking/running as a last ditch effort to get prepared. I withold his photo, but I will not be so kind during my "Agony and ecstasy" photo shoot at the T.C. Marathon.