Random Inspirational Quote

PM: bike ride of most of the Mill Race Marathon course.  Nothing at a pace fast enough to call anything beyond "spinning".  Out for a nice ride enjoying the day and researching my "opponent" for Saturday.  33.45 miles - 2:18:40 of moving time.

AM: 45-50 degrees - nice crisp morning easy run: 8mi. - 1:03:50. Taper week

PM1: 60 degrees - a beautiful sunny fall day.  4 miles easy with the dog - 33:22.  Another dog got loose and attacked.  It took only 2 kicks to get him to quit growling and trying to bite Indy.  Poor owner...not really, I cussed her out, too.  My favorite is the dog owner who somehow loses hold of the leash and then comes running up behind their dog and says - "oh, he's friendly, he doesn't bite", while at the same time the loose dog is growling and trying to bite my dog's neck. 

PM: 6.33 mi. w/ 5x0.5mi. @ MP ~3:15s.  Mileage number for today is what my pace needs to be for a 2:52 Saturday :) (6:33)

PM: easy 4 miles - 32:52.  Ate alot of carbs today.  Way over calorie count, but I'm thinking I should be in the last couple days in order to carb load.  Got my Boston acceptance email today, so I'm in.  Now, as long as no more babies are coming in April... We are currently not expecting. 

Off - Tapering sucks

PM: easy jog downtown to race expo - 7.66mi.- 1:04

Ouch - another failure on the marathon attempt:

The race was an inaugral event in my hometown, and it was awesome to get to run on the closed down roads that I train on daily.  Turned out to be a huge event with about 600 in the full and 2500 in the half.  A random finisher of the half or full would win Cummins diesel engine truck!  (~50k value) - I did not win :)

Anyway, the race went a lot like some of the other marathons I have run.  Great for 20 miles, then not so great.  In training, I have been running a whole lot more mileage, and long runs at marathon pace.  Everything I had been doing looked like it was telling me that a 2:52:xx was my target.  So, I set out to run that time.  

First 20: 6:35, 31, 33, 45, 32, 28, 35, 35, 31, 34, 37, 37, 36, 32, 30, 30, 40, 26, 34, 38

Last 10k: 6:49, 7:01, 7:15, 7:25, 7:50, 8:18, 3:13 for 0.39

This is the worst I remember feeling at the end of a marathon in a while.  People later said that the temperature climbed in to the warm range near the end of the marathon... I don't remember feeling it get warmer, but I certainly remember how dead I was by about mile 22.  Check out the pace graph :)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/382700673

Additional comments after reflection time:

I carried 3 GUs with me with specific plans to eat one at 7-8mi., half and a caffeinated gel between 16-18mi.  I probably should've had one more for about mile 22-23.  I remember feeling like I was in trouble around 20 mi. and for some reason told myself to plow on through the water stops.  There was even a critical point at mile 23.5 where there were GUs and some nutrition to consume - this spot would've saved me, I think.  I also realized that I only remember one aid station with sports drink.  I would've been doing alot better with more early on and throughout the race and a couple more gels...  probably... I did not race smart.  After 12 of these things you would think I would know better - I hate to say it, but this one was another learning experience instead of a victory.  Right now, its hard to stomach the idea of going through this again Nov. 2 :(   I guess it would help if I were able to walk.

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