Marathons are freaking long!

So, it's over. After 4 months of training, sacrifice, blood sweat and tears, the race is over. 26.2 miles later and I can now say I've ran my third full marathon. I didn't unfortunately qualify for Boston (missed it by about 30 minutes), but I did set a new PR and learned a hell of a lot along the way.

First off, I need to put in more miles every week, as I definitely found my legs needed more strength. I may be way off on this, but I feel if I can get more miles in, my legs will grow stronger. I'm not the biggest fan of gyms.

Second, calf cramps suck. I got hit with these around mile 12 and they didn't let up until I was sitting down after the finish line. I'm taking this as one more sign to try out compression socks. Gonna get some for my legs, and see what kind of difference they make.

Third, I really need to stay on top of my running shoes. This was my third full marathon in my current pair, plus a handful of half marathons and some short races (plus all the training for all of the above), and after the 500+ miles in them, I think it's time to start shopping for a new pair. Which is fine by me, I love new show shopping. Nothing motivates me more to get outside and run like a brand new pair of shoes.

Now what to get...?

*I'll put together a more in depth race review, as soon as I recover more. I always forget how much a race of this distance takes out of me.