Awesome marathon for me. a 10 minute PR. but even better, i beat dubya by a solid four minutes. first time i've run a marathon without crashing. 26th mile was an 8:06. 

i had a really great time this weekend traveling and hanging out with friends - this was the best marathon experience i've had. everything went as close to perfect as one could expect. actually went to bed at 9:30 pm the night before the race. i woke up several times throughout the night, but felt rested when the alarm went off at 4:30. my morning routine went off without a hitch.  the bus ride pick up took place at our hotel so that was great. the temps on race day were ideal (45F at the start to mid 60's at the finish). the race was well organized and the finish line was fun with the live music, food and beverages, and the small crowd made for a relatively intimate marathon event. there were 95 marathon finishers and 52 half finishers. approximately 75 people cancelled due to the possibility of smoky conditions from to the summer wildfires in the area. fortunately the smoke wasn't an issue at all.

Lysa, Thayne, Stacie, Wendy (Thayne's wife), Erin (who was running her first marathon) and i hung out at the start,. it was great to be with friends at a race rather than alone like i usually am. the elevation at the start was around 4800+ ft. and the finish is 3,900+ ft. for about a 900 foot drop. the course starts off with a gentle downhill the first couple of miles, a nice way to start a long run. there were some easy rollers throughout and a couple of substantial climbs around mile 7-ish and 14. i don't mind hills, i feel like i climb well. the first 21 miles or so were on a rocky dirt road. the little rocks and washboard didn't bother me at all. there were a couple of quarter mile or so long asphalt stretches, and the last 5 miles or so were on asphalt. i hung out at the back of the crowd at the start, which is to say i was approximately 7.5 feet from the starting line (very small crowd!). passed several people in the first miles, then ran alone most of the rest. i didn't get passed by anyone. took my first water at mile 8, then at every aid station after - they were every 2 miles i think. i tried the Gu drink at one point but didn't like it. i ate half a banana at the 17 mile aid station. that's it for fuel and water during the race. the were several cattle guards along the way, and a plywood board was layed across these sections. so while i never looked behind me, i could hear two runners crossing the cattle guards about 10 seconds behind me for much of the first half of the run. it kept me moving. around mile 14 we hit the out and back which was about a mile and half each way. i was very surprised after the turn around to find that Thayne was only about a half mile behind me at this point. he was on pace to easily break 4 hours! i tried not to look shocked as we passed each other. it definitely put some extra pep in my step. around mile 21 i ran into Scott (Lysa's hubby, and an old friend of mine), who was running his first half marathon. i realized this was the perfect time to take a break before the final push to the finish. this was my slowest mile at 9:20, but the mental and physical break  no doubt helped me finish stronger than i otherwise would have. it was one of my favorite parts of the run. after leaving Scott, i realized that i was, in fact, getting tired. but i still hadn't crashed. after mile 23 i realized that there wasn't going to be a crash! i was so psyched. i slowed a little through mile 25 but was able to rally a little for the 26th mile. i do regret not breaking 3:40. (it would have been cool to have a 3:3x:xx PR), but it will just make the next PR that much sweeter.

really great that everyone in our group had a great day. Lysa PR'd and finished with Erin who completed her first marathon! Thayne obliterated his previous marathon best (run on this course) by 45? minutes!! Stacie didn't PR but was happy because she felt good throughout the run, AND she enhanced her promise of doing a handstand across the finish line by doing a cartwheel!! it was pretty cool. (she used to be a gymnast, it was a real graceful looking cartwheel). and Wendy, was in the process of annihilating  her previous best before she twisted her knee going over a cattle guard in the 21st mile. she walked into the finish in high spirits! Scott finished his first half marathon AND through a twist of fate typical with Scott he got 1st place in his age division! awesome stuff. we celebrated that night by the riverside with live music and the load of months of training and obsessing off our shoulders.

i feel like this is the first time i really put in some proper training for a marathon and the result is that it payed off! being able to actually "race" right up to the finish was so rewarding and made all the training worthwhile. i'm also encouraged because even during my higher mileage weeks i felt as though i could do more. so i look forward to the next marathon training cycle and pushing harder and seeing what i can do. my "minimal" taper worked out well. running consistently gives me a good fix on what works and what doesn't for me personally. i feel in tune with my running body, and current capability, and that lends a better focus to training effort.

splits:

1 - 8:16

2 - 8:17

3 - 8:05

4 - 8:15

5 - 8:04

6 - 8:07

7 - 8:31 (start of first substantial hill)

8 - 8:50 (hill)

9 - 7:42 (big downhill)

10- 8:32 (?)

11- 8:16

12- 8:27

13- 8:16

14- 8:52 (hill at the out and back section)

15- 8:50 (more hill, last quarter down)

16- 8:24

17- 7:56 (this was after i saw how close Thayne was)

18- 7:55 (still trying to get away from Thayne)

19- 8:26

20- 8:25

21- 9:20 (break time with Scott - salvation!)

22- 8:16

23- 8:50 (now i'm tired)

24- 8:46

25- 8:42

26- 8:06 (hardly comprehending that i feel good enough to do this!)

.3 @ 7:46 pace

WT 66.2 miles

two fifty-eight