Seeking a better country...

Very good 5 am run.  Early to bed, early to rise...

My legs feel great.  Tapering feels better than training.  Only occasionally do I feel excitement or aprehension about UVM; my expectations are pretty low.  I don't anticipate having a particularly special 10th marathon.  Even so, 10 is nothing to sneeze at.  

The plan:  7:20 miles through 20, then try to pick it up.  Or hold on. Or feign injury and get a ride home from my daughter.

Slept in till 6, ran a nice shorty, and got to work a half hour late.  Ash woke up in time to come with me, but she refused my offer.  We ran together almost every day last spring.  This year, she joined me only twice.  Big difference between 9 and 10.  Or maybe I'm a super mean dad this year compared to last.  I certainly cannot rule out that possibility.

Coming into this race, I knew I was undertrained.  I guess I underestimated how much.  I thought I could reasonably expect to run around 3:20; if everything went right, maybe even BQ.  

1st half was 1:38.  In every marathon, I typically go out fast and try to bank some time against the second half slow-down.  Today I was going to run even splits for the first time, and try to leave some in the tank for the end.  1st half was right on track.  The conditions were nice and cool.  There was no wind.  Effort level was pretty low, even climbing the hills.  I was a bit daunted by the prospect of running a negative split for the first time in my life, but it felt doable at the half.  A few miles later, the wheels started coming off, and the obvious deficiencies in my training became clear.

At 16, the mile split was again over 7:30, so I knew bq was out of the question.  3:20 was still reachable.  At mile 17 I took an "act of faith" GU.  I didn't feel great, and definitely didn't want the gel, but knew I'd need it to have a respectable finish.  Gag, puke, belch, etc.   It turns out I could have skipped.  During mile 18, my left hamstring started cramping.  By mile 19, the left IT-band was locking up.  It was Galloway the rest of the way, running for 3-5 minutes at a time, until the knee locked up and forced me to walk.  

Oh yeah, at the half it got really windy down the canyon.  Windy canyon and UVM seem to be synonyms.  It was discouraging, but had nothing to do with my slowing pace and lackluster second half.  I was pleased to see the organizers provided porta potties this year.  I didn't need one though, other than the start.

My daughter and friend were waiting for my slow finish.  I got my creamie, and made the slow walk to the car, forgetting to pick up my package drop.  

I should re-title this blog, "Regressing to the Mean".  After a nice fall marathon in 2012, I've laid an egg the last two times.  My heart isn't in the running.  I'm not looking for answers...I know what it takes to run better than this.  I just can't find the desire to make the extra effort.