You know you’re deep into marathon training when…

•    Your “short” midweek runs (6-7 mi) used to be a long weekend run.

•    Your long run - on a stepback week! - is longer than a half marathon.

•    You actually write the long run plan on the family calendar.

•    You don’t hesitate to pass up a couple of very tempting 10K races, because they conflict with weekend long runs.

•    You have to consciously sit on the brakes in the early miles and not speed out too fast.

•    You’re eating the house down but slowly losing weight.

•    Body Glide has become one of your best friends.

•    If you neglect the Body Glide, you discover it’s actually possible to chafe under your arms, even though you have thin arms.

•    Before you head out, you check to make sure the iPod battery has at least a couple of hours life in it.

•    Stretching isn’t a minor nuisance any more – it actually feels good to do it every day.

•    You’re running loops in your neighborhood, and a friendly neighbor calls out “You AGAIN?” after you’ve run past their front yard for the third time.

•    You run 20 miles and are surprised that you’re still physically and mentally intact. As you’re stretching out after the run, you note to yourself in a bit of disbelief, “Wow, I actually RAN that far “