My pre-labours did last weeks.. Evil stuff.. Just thought I might throw in that they can get extremely painful, there are outside cues that will let you know when you are in actual labour and I have found they are easier to explain than what actual labour feels like.

You are clawing at furniture to grip.
Biting down hard with your teeth.
Being spoken to in the middle of one infuriates you.
Can't decide whether to cry or scream.
You are too scared to move because you know it will bring on another contraction.

All the prep in the world will not prevent the hard hitting reality of how painful it actually is. If you can tick any one on that list, then chances are you are on the last step of your pregnancy journey. And if you are like most of the rest of us, you wont regret going through it once its over!