Maybe I'll Blog, Maybe I Won't

Didnt get a chance to talk to you before or after. Nice report even if the race wasnt quite what you where going for.

We forgive you Br. Furse.

Great race report. No you did not PR. But you survived. I was wondering if you would while I was reading that report...but then I realized you must have as you wrote the report. Very graphic description outlining how your performance declined. Congratulations on finishing the Marathon are in order given what you had to contend with.

Sorry for the issues during the race. Hope it will just make you stronger the next time you race. Good to run with you for the first time. Keep it up man.

the marathon is a weird event -- you just never know when one of these days is going to come up and bite you, seemingly out of nowhere. you held the sub-2:30 pace for 18 miles -- sasha says that training gets you through the first 16 miles and the rest is a matter of the day -- so i think you can look at that as a positive sign in that you had trained well and were prepared for this race. i had a very similar experience in TOU 2007 -- everything fell apart at mile 14, almost in an instant. i finished 30 minutes slower than what i was on pace for at mile 14 because my body decided to shut down. sometimes these things just happen.

good job in hanging in there and still finishing in 2:43. i know it's not what you were going for, but it's still solid. you showed a lot of heart and mental fortitude by sticking with it and pushing yourself to the finish. continuing to run after a crash and burn is extremely difficult, both mentally and physically. but it does make you stronger and will help you in your next race. take some time to figure out what you can learn from this race, but don't dwell on it. it has happened or will happen to every marathoner at some point. it sounds like you have been very busy and your life is moving a million miles an hour. that can definitely take its toll on the body. take some time to rest and recover. enjoy the beautiful trails and fall colors -- you have trained hard this summer and some relaxed running is well deserved.

you are balancing a lot of stuff right now. And really, running comes after school, work and church in terms of priority right now. congrats on a very solid finish with a lot of stuff going on. let's get out and do some runs soon. how about we do first dam run this year too?

I echo Scott--there is a season for all things and you (your body, mind, efforts, etc) can only handle so much. Clearly you have the ability to run under 2:30 and will someday but it wasn't to be today. No biggie. Your time will come!

It was great meeting you in person finally. A tough day out there but you hung in there and got it done. Nice running with you for the first 7 miles or so, too bad both of us came up short of our goals, but life moves on and there will be other races.

Keep running strong.

Wow great time! Awesome job on Saturday!

Sorry you didn't have the race you wanted. Fortunately, you've ran enough good races to know you have "it", so you can just shrug this one off and move forward. BTW - it's easier to train when you get out of school, as you get into a dull, predictable routine.