I ran my second marathon in Albany, Georgia, recently, and this one felt different from the last. Although it was slower, it meant more to me and felt like a bigger accomplishment than the previous marathon I ran in Savannah back in November.

I went into this marathon doing, at max, 40-45 miles per week, three to four runs a week, with a couple 20 mile long runs with my friend, Greg, to prepare myself aerobically for the long race. Now, if a race is 26.2 miles, it certainly is an issue when my weekly training mileage is less than twice the miles I'm supposed to race in one day.