My neighbor Jeff picked me up around 6:15, and we drove up to Eden. He had family staying in their cabin there. We stopped by to use the bathroom, but nobody was awake. They thought the race was commencing at 8:00, so they were glad we woke them for the 7:30 start. My participation in this race was not advisable, but I had to try. I was in 2nd place in my age for the series with 2-3 minute cushion on the guys below me. I wanted to hold position and get an award. The first 3rd of the race was fine. I was hovering around Marathon pace, and running comfortably and conversationally with Merilee Blackham. Once we hit the aid station at mile 6, she kept cruising along while I slowed for gu and water. I found another "friend" to run with, but got dropped around the turnaround. I was really starting to suffer. My legs were just dead, and I still had 9+ miles to go to the finish. I held on all right until the last 3rd of the race. By mile 14, I was walking and limping. People were passing me like crazy, and it was bugging me. My sister came up to cheer, and she caught me at my worst. I thought about hopping in the car and catching a ride for my first DNF. Instead, she went ahead to the next aid station and got me some drinks. I took one last gu, and decided to keep going. After she left, I would run for a while then walk. Usually the threshold to put an end to walking was 3 people passing me. Once the finish got close enough, I did hang on and run 1.5 in a row, and nobody else passed me, but by then the damage was done. I'd fallen from 2nd place to 11th in my age group. My time was 20 minutes slower than my 30k split at Boston 5 days earlier. In hindsight, I should have stayed home in bed and let Jeff run on my entry. It would have saved him $50 and got me some extra sleep. He finished 30 seconds behind me. We hung around for a little while after the race, then drove back. During the drive home, things locked up pretty good. I couldn't really walk, and my right hip hurt a lot. I napped for a while and took a motrin, then finished the day mowing lawns for a few hours with my son. It was nice to have a mower to hold onto...like a walker. So now I'm trying to figure out when to go for a run again. It would have been fine to restart on Saturday, but not for 18+ miles. Maybe tomorrow, I guess.
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