Snakes & Recovering From a 22 Mile Run

My husband is a total prankster. You knew this, right? He has a giant-toy snake and he's been planting it around his friends and clients to scare them. I saw this (see picture below), as I was pulling out of the driveway. I said out loud, "What the ....???!!!" I pulled back into the driveway to get a closer look.
 
SNAKE. A fake snake.

22 MILES: LONG RUN
Don't ask me why or how, but a miracle occurred. Jayme agreed to meet me at 4 am and run with me. Jayme will be running Chicago Marathon in a few weeks soon and she's going to do great. This picture was taken last spring.

From the beginning, we had planned on keeping the pace around 10 - 10:30 per mile. We started with some light stretching, a swig of water and we were off. We were busy chatting it up and our first mile was 8:50. Ooops!!! We had to reel it in. Eventually, every mile got slower. 9:10, 9: 14, 9: 20...etc....Eventually, we settled into a 10 minute pace. Jayme planned on running 20 miles with me, but due to stomach issues, she called it quits at mile 10. I was fine. I was just grateful to have company period.

So, I said goodbye to her and completed 12 more miles. I ran to the lake and it made me so sad to see how dry the lake is.  The white shaded area is where water should be.

Rain! We need buckets and buckets of rain!



A few bottles, near the shore.

Great Advice for Long Distance Runners 
My DailyMile friend, Travis, said he elevates his legs after a long run to aid in recovery. So, as soon as I got home I propped my legs up against a wall for 5 minutes. I woke up this morning and thought: Wow, it feels like I ran 14 miles, not 22. I'm sold. Do any of you guys do this after a long run? A few years ago, I read this in Runners World, but I never did it. When other runners give me advice, especially a boston qualifier -- I listen. You should too or at least try it and let me know what you think.