You can actually suffer a little bit more going slowly than when you're going really fast. A faster marathon might even be easier than a slow one, in terms of what it takes out of you mentally. -Frank Shorter

When I ran my last marathon it took me 2h34m and I was tired for being out for so long. When I think about those marathon runners who take 4 hours or more it must be a different type of challenge for them. At Chester Marathon I had the opportunity to hang around and I saw runners finish in times over 4 hours. There was a runner who pushed a disabled person around in a wheelchair. I honestly think that these people have a tougher time and when they get up the next day they are in a lot more pain that me. OK they may not train as hard or have the type of pain in the race you get from speed (spikey pain I like to call it) but that it only for a short time.

My plan for the next week is to continue with the FI phase of training (Foundation and Injury Prevention). This will involve easy runs/bike-rides/swims with my heart rate staying under 150bpm.