I had pretty much decided not to run this because I was just getting going on a good recovery with my ankle, but I felt that I didn't want to miss another one of these. So I decided to run it slow and see how it felt. I told the two families that were staying with us that I'd probably be walking it so plan on a half day event.
It was awesome having Sasha and his family up for the night and two other families after the marathon. I think with the fact that I havent been able to train it really helped reconnect me with the running thing to feel everyone's spirit and still be a part of things.
The race went much better than expected. The first mile didn't feel that bad, just a lot of pain in my foot so I decided to run the 6:08 pace that the masters record is at. The problem was that running this pace put me up on my toes which was really flexing my foot around. If I slowed down I went back to a more heel strike and it felt fine. I came through the halfway line with another master from Rexburg right on 1:20. At 14 miles I had to slow back becasue it just hurt too much. From then on it was a lot more fun since it was just about managing the footstrike. I'm pretty much a pansy when it comes to pain so getting this marathon done without quitting felt as good as any running accomplishment I've done. Now I have to figure out how to get running again. This morning, the day after, my foot is feeling even better so I hope to start getting some mileage in this week.
Awesome again to see so many friends from the blog at the marathon! | 