my makeup may be flaking

I ran this race two years ago, running 2:55:47 for 6th. That was my last marathon. I came in with a goal of sub 2:50.

Mile 1 (6:37)

My plan was to start conservatively which is quite challenging as the first mile is not only downhill, but we start with the half marathoners. I basically just chilled, running with Bo Brewer who was running the half. I just wanted to make sure that I stayed ahead of the 1:30 half marathon pace group.

Mile 2 (6:31, 13:08)

In the second mile, I was still very relaxed but I started to pass a couple of people.

Mile 3 (6:33, 19:41)

This is where the race starts to get tough. Mile 3 has a steep downhill followed by a long climb. On the climb I keep my pace pretty steady and then start to move through the field. Bo and a couple of other half marathoners are still with me as is Filemon Lopez who's running the full. Crossing the 5k mat, Filemon was 14th and I was 15th. (Bo was 52nd in the half)

Mile 4 (6:29, 26:11)

Mile 4 features a pretty solid climb going through the historic MLK neighbourhood. When I saw 6:29. I was pretty pumped. That's the same split I ran in the HALF last year for this mile.

Mile 5 (6:09, 32:20)

Mile 5 is a solidly downhill mile as we head out of Atlanta into Inman park, Atlanta's first suburb. Despite the big speedup, I don't really move up and Bo and Filemon are still with me.

Mile 6 (6:48, 39:08)

Now we climb again towards Little 5 Points, an ultrahip area, descend again, then climb up towards the Jimmy Carter presidential library. My legs are starting to feel it now, but I really pass a lot of people in this mile. In the second 5k I moved up from 15th to 8th, but I was still behind my pace from 2 years ago.

Mile 7 (5:56, 45:04)

I think that mile 6 is short and 7 is long. I ran 5:47 for mile 7 in the half last year, which also seemed wrong. Nonetheless I am glad to see that 5:56 after a 6:48 in the previous mile. There is a huge group of runners about 30 seconds ahead of me who all turn off to follow the half. Now I am completely alone.

Mile 8 (6:27, 51:31)

Mile 8 is the first one with the two races separate. I can see two people ahead of me. The road slopes down gradually and I can already feel the fatigue in my legs. I don't seem to be gaining at all on the people in front or the putting any distance on the chasers (based on the cheering delay). Right at the end of this mile, we get a real nasty climb, so I'm encouraged to see that I'm still sub 6:30.

Mile 9 (6:14, 57:45)

Even with this fast split, I don't seem to be gaining on Aaron Spak (who is in 7th). This mile has plenty of downhill.

Mile 10 (6:34, 1:04:19)

Mile 10 and 11 contain a pretty lengthy, though not very steep climb. And right at mile 10, I finally real in Aaron to move into 7th. I run stride for stride with him for a bit, but it seems like he's starting to struggle so I just keep right on going.

Mile 11 (6:36, 1:10:55)

As we crest the hill I can see one guy (Paul Deaton) and then on a little dogleg I get a glimpse of 5th place, but he's probably still a couple of minutes ahead.

Mile 12 (6:17, 1:17:12)

Really don't enjoy this downhill. My legs are seriously in trouble. Mostly my glutes and calves. My quads to have some fight left though. It's going to get rough. You are now subscribed to #DecaturFacts

Mile 13 (6:27. 1:23:39)

Did you know that there are 47 Decaturs in the US? This fact is communicated to me in rhyme. A lady waving a sign saying "Decatur Now, Decatur Tomorrow" yells at me "better you than me". Anyway I'm in 7th at halfway. Ten seconds behind 6th,  1:10 behind 5th and 4+ minutes behind 4th.

Mile 14 (6:30, 1:30:09)

First indication that I'm slowing. This is a faster mile, but my split isn't great. I'm not gaining on 6th place, but 5th is getting closer to both of us.

Mile 15 (6:26, 1:36:35)

There's a really loud aid station in this mile: megaphone and all. From this I can tell that no one is really very close.

Mile 16 (6:07, 1:42:42)

This is the fastest mile of the race, so this split doesn't get me any closer to 6th, but he manages to catch the 5th place guy and they run side by side.

Mile 17 (6:35, 1:49:17)

This is the change point of the race, after several relatively easy miles we enter Druid Hills. It's a horrendous series of climbs and drops that seems endless. Fortunately, I run in this neighbourhood every single day. About halfway through this mile we pass my tempo run startline, which is at the base of a 400m hill. I push hard up this hill and finally close the gap on 5th and 6th place.

Mile 18 (6:37, 1:55:54)

My legs are really feeling it now the 6th place guy is still sticking on me in this mile.

Mile 19 (6:25, 2:02:19)

One final mile where I feel good. I bury the hard climb in this mile.

Mile 20 (6:56, 2:09:15)

The constant switching from steep up to steep down and back is taking a toll. I feel like I'm running in sand, but I've still got plenty of energy. One final mat at mile 20.

Mile 21 (6:39, 2:15:54)

Mile 20 starts with a brutal combination of steep down, steep up, steep down. I just couldn't use the downhill properly. Then on the next climb I felt like I was crawling.

Mile 22 (6:35, 2:22:29)

This mile is where I lost the sub 2:50. It's a nice gradual downhill into Piedmont park. A 6:35 wasn't going to ruin my race, but not good enough.

Mile 23 (7:06, 2:29:35)

Mile 23 has another turnaround where you can see the people ahead and behind. I didn't see anyone in front of me. I saw the 6th place guy about 2mins back and got a glimpse of the motorcycles indicating that the top woman was coming.I finally slipped behind the 6:30 guy on this mile as we had to climb up to Peachtree St. This is the hill that hospitalized me last summer.

Mile 24 (6:43, 2:36:18)

Lost more ground to the 6;30 guy.

Mile 25 (6:54, 2:43:12)

Mile 25 somehow has more uphill. I felt ok, knowing that I was close to the end, but this is a legitimately tough mile.

Mile 26.2 (8:08, 2:51:20)

That' 8:08 for 1.22 (6:40 pace). Not a bad finish. Totally comfortable cardiowise. My calves were just totally unprepared.

Final splits