Slept pretty well last night, might have been a tad over hydrated as I went to the bathroom too much. It's funny too (about sleeping, not the potty) because I get myself all jazzed up with motivational movies and clips and then just crash. Woke up before 5, got my oatmeal on and stayed pretty relaxed throughout the morning as I headed over to the base. It was a good mile walk to the starting area, which was probably good as it was cool this morning (Happy about that!!) Race start was nice, 48 degrees, and the Air Force sure knows how to start a race. We have the anthem being sung, flags everywhere, officers and military soldiers wishing you luck and the best was the B-1 doing the fly by at the start of the race!! Pretty darn sweet. So the race begins and I am doing a pretty good job of staying relaxed wanted to keep my excitement and energy hopefully for later. I checked the elevation map and I knew the first 2 miles were uphill so it is always a challenge figuring out what is 'too fast' and what is 'too slow' with hills right off the bat. Miles 1 & 2 - 7:36, 7:25 Wore my dollar Wal-Mart gloves for these till I warmed up. Tossed them off at mile 3. Thanks Kelli! Mile 3 - 7:01 I knew I would get some time back since there was a modest down here hill, but knew there would be a slight uphill after that. I felt decent, but yet was still unsure if I wanted to go for broke at attempt Sub 3:10 or run 3:15 like I was planning. I figured I would try a negative split today if I felt well. Miles 4-6 - 7:35, 7:24, 7:16 After the small hill, it was a small gradual downhill then was flat for many miles after that. Here was pretty good as I was chatting with a few people, it was one girls birthday and she was wearing a birthday crown. I thought it was neat and people would cheer her on, but I'd hate something like that on my head during a marathon! Miles 7 & 8 - 7:25, 7:30 We entered the city of Fairborn which is nice, they are very supportive. They had a line a cheerleaders who were like ages 8-10 with a young band behind them. They were adorable, and had their hands out for 'low fives' I made the time to go over and slap each one of them and though out the town give high fives to any of the kids who were looking for it. Sure it cost a few second, but more than worth it. Miles 10-12 - 7:28, 7:23, 7:29 I saw a friend of mine near the end of the city, and she was cheering me and another mutual friend on. I stopped for a second to say hello, get a hug and say thanks :) After that we got back to the base and were heading towards the airstrips. Miles 13-14 - 7:26, 7:42 This is where I wanted to decide if I really wanted to push a negative split or not. I seemed to feel fine, maybe a little sore in the back, but overall good, the down side was I really needed a bathroom stop! I took it at mile 14 as you might see. I did talk to another guy that ran the Kentucky Derby Marathon, he said there was a tough part (don't they all have those?) but was a good one. Miles 15-18 - 7:26, 7:10, 7:11, 7:23 I figured I push just a bit, and I was ok, but that was the problem. I felt just ok, not comfortable at this point. I thought if I kept pushing lower 7's I would crash so I backed off that pace - that and I knew some blisters had formed and popped - I will post the bloody images later! Bummer, but not really disappointed - just testing the legs. Miles 19-21 - 7:24, 7:16, 7:31 Starting to feel just a little tired. Somewhere around here 2 fighter jets screamed by. That was very very cool. We had planes all day from big jumbo transports, to old WWI style planes, but the fighters were the best (I thought they were F-15's, but don't quote me on that!) Miles 22-24 - 7:35, 7:19, 7:21 Mile 22 is where some body decided a hill was a good idea. I blame... JG.... Of course what goes up, must go down - good, but a little tough on the legs during 'the wall' miles. Mile 25 & 26.2 - 7:00, 7:18 (.2 sameish) I thought I might be losing it an did NOT want to finish slower than a 3:15 if at all possible, but as we all know - somethings we can't control no matter how much desire we have. I had a little in the tank so I picked it up and was glad I did. Finished at 3:14:38 Not as great as I would have liked, but still a 5 minute PR and I am more than happy with that (for now ha!). Already had my ice bath and going to pig out some more! Come join if ya want. I will want to check on all the TOU runners!
|