I went into this race with the intent to cross the finish line with no injury. I actually wanted to cross with no pain but along the way I was reminded that is kind of hard to do. My right ITB just wants to get me every time. The last 5 or 6 miles calls for some walking breaks more often than I would like in front of all the spectators!
My training this year was just running...no specific things to help me get anywhere near my best. But that is ok and that is what I wanted and that is what I got. I knew I needed to keep things slower than a 9:30-10:00 minute pace the first half or I would really regret it later. I was pretty good to do that. Every once in a while I found myself going a bit faster but I was pretty good to bring it back down and enjoy.
I started off with David Ludlow. He had plans to go a little faster than I wanted at the start so we were only together till about mile 4 and then I told him I wanted to keep to my plan.
After awhile I ran into a guy who seemed to be holding a very steady 10 minute pace so I started talking to him. He was the legendary Val Barnes. He was a speedy guy back in his hay day. It was a pleasure to run several miles with him.
Val started going a little slower so when Bob Bradshaw and Dave Hill came up behind me I started in with them also. At this point it kind of traded off with Val and Bob/Dave...depended on which one was going what I wanted to do.
Then we came upon David Ludlow who was really struggling...we got him running a bit but he was not doing well at all. I left them and just did my own thing as my ITB started giving me it's woes.
As I got to about mile 24 I looked a bit ahead and saw none other but Tom Lee who was suppose to be reaching the finish line about an hour before me! I ran to catch up to him and could tell he had not been having much fun at all. He said he gave up on his 3:30ish attempt at about mile 5. So we were able to run the last couple miles together.
It is always amazing to me to take that journey....whether I am trained and can run a PR or less ready and run a bit slower. I am so grateful I am able to do this with my mind and body.
This was 9 SGM in a row for me. I suppose I will need to run next year to make it 10. Then maybe (or maybe not) Tom and I will take a break from marathons for a while and just do half marathons.
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