It's definetly time to take some time off from running after this run today. We had great race prep the night before, we were waterskiing until 10pm! It really did help to loosen up the legs.
It was a great morning before the start. I sat with my cousin for a while and talked to a bunch of friends, Keith A, Scott E, Ben V, Burns and my high school coach who got me into the race last minute. It was a reminder why I love running so much, such a beautiful morning. Scott E invited me to run with them because they where shooting for a 2:50 today, but I really had no idea if I how or what pace to attempt, just too many injuries this summer. I set in with a few guys keeping an even 6:10 pace and it felt pretty smooth. For some reason my feet blistered at mile 4 and I knew 22 more miles would rip them up, but I've dealt with that before.
The first 7 miles just eased by. We slowed down to around 6:20 pace for a bit and I was surprised when the halfway point came by at about 1:20. It was the slowest halfway point for me in three years and I knew it wasn't going to get any faster today. I could actually feel the muscle pain in my legs which was a first. At 14 miles a master runner from Billings passed me and so I dropped to a 5:47 pace for the next 4 miles to see how it felt. This is usually a pace that I am most comfortable at and I didn't tire out but I could just feel pain in my quads. At mile 20 I think I could feel every muscle in my leg with each step. I'm pretty sure it's just burnout this season and that Alta race sure impacted harder than I thought it would. It just hurt to run. I decided to walk at each aid station, at least the next three and that made it possible to finish. I lost about 5-6 minutes on those. Allie blew by me at 25 and a half miles so I had to at least pick it up enough to pass her to the finish.
Slowest marathon in a few years but lots of fun! My socks and shoes were bloody from torn blisters in the arches but at leats that got me a good recliner for a while in the first aid tent. Keith A had a great race, right on my tail. I didn't get to talk to Scott E at the finish, but I think he was pretty close to that 2:50. Talked with a bit to quit a few bloggers which is always pretty fun. I got harrassed by my old coach for running such a stupid schedule this summer and spent a few minutes talking to Paul P who looked like he had just strolled down the block after pacing someone to a sub 3 hour finish. He also said it's been a lot of races this summer for me, so maybe everyone is just a lot smarter than me. Obviously I am just getting slower this summer. :) I don't think Sammy beat Paul's time from last year so that's sweet. The nicest thing today was that I had no pain at all from the torn achilles tendon, so I've done the right things there. It was swollen up a bit. My girls got in a fight and tears over who got the medal so I had to go beg for a second one! They just love those moose medals. I also had a chance to talk with Sasha P for a while although I was pretty dead by then. He had a great race today and is pretty cool to talk too, lots of running knowledge. We probably talked more about airplanes though. | 