Fooled you. Fooled me.

I went to bed at 10 last night after a light dinner with some noodles in it. I figured sleeping in would be nice.

4 a.m. I am awake. I kept my eyes closed until 430 and decided time was a-wastin'. I got up to run.

I moved quickly to be across town by 530. Dress. Eat. Pack Gatorade and water on ice. Drive. I arrived before Jason came outside and David arrived. These guys ran Miami with me in January and will run Chicago in three weeks. I was gambling that Jason - the precision expert - would know exactly when I could drop off from their 20-miler and get my 15 in. He sure did.

We moved out in the dark on two 8-mile loops of College Park in Orlando. Jason is in better condition than the last time I saw him. Dave is the firebrand rabbit he always is. To my advantage neither one of them was going to outrun me today because they had four extra miles to do after the two loops.

We disected all things related to public schools, other principals who run, the rise in real estate listings and marathon prep. The water stops worked out well. The construction port-a-potties were in the right place for one of us who ate a lot last night.

Last week when I ran two 10-mile loops with Sue I suggested we run the second loop in reverse, which made the scenery very different. Jason and Dave bought into the same suggestion today and it was a welcome variation, in my opinion.

In the last mile I was feeling very peppy - as if I could go the 20 with them with no trouble. Then I thought about how training is designed to prep you for the race, not tomorrow's training run. So - I told Jason and Dave I was going to turn it up on the way back to the corral. They said go for it.

It was awesome. I moved out, turning my legs over faster and stretching my stride. I had all the stamina I needed and, in about 3/4 of a mile, I put a minute between me and the guys; and I could have still gone on.

Jason said it was 16 miles. He said our time was 2:45, more than 10:00/mile, but about 15 seconds faster than on last week's 20. Which remnds me ... something I remember from last Saturday with Sue was the quiet synchonized pace we kept. For long periods our footfalls were identical in the early morning whispers of a waking town. I marvelled at the sense of common purpose and effort.

I went with the new Kayanos today, favoring them for race day too. What I have to do is stay out of the old shoes. Nothng hurts and Sherlene will make it even better on Tuesday.