Arrived at the start about forty-five minutes before the start of the race. Had a chance to hit the POP and relax by the fire for a few minutes. It was cold enough that I elected to wear a long sleeve shirt over the top of my technical shirt along with my gloves. Started out with Wayne, dodging other runners and trying to find a little space by running along the edge of the road. I was a bit surprised to find that my ankles and lower shins were fairly tight right from the beginning and didn't seem to be loosening up. First mile in 7:56, second mile in 7:58. The crowd had broken up and we were feeling warmed up, so we started to pick up the pace a bit. Third mile in 7:21, but ankles were still tight and PF in right foot was starting to bother me a little. About half way into the next mile I had a sudden sharp pain in my right instep. After running for a few steps I started to think I was done for the day. I tried altering my stride so I didn't come right down on the sore spot, but I knew that I couldn't keep that up all day. I just kept going gradually put more weight on it. It hurt, but the pain didn't seem to be getting any worse. Fourth mile in 7:28. I was still thinking at that point that I probably going to have to take a DNF, but I just kept going anyway. By that time I'd lost sight of Wayne. I took a gel heading into the five mile waterstop, but it didn't go down very easy. As there was a nice downhill the next couple of miles, I kept up a consistent effort with a 7:23 and 7:14 for miles six and seven. Starting up the hill at Veyo, the pain eased up a bit and I actually started feeling OK. The next three miles were not fast (8:43, 8:44 and 8:29), but my foot was feeling better. Took another gel approaching the 11 mile mark and then walked through the waterstop. Mile 11 in 8:50. As things started to level out a bit, Greg W. caught up with me and we ran together for a little while. He was looking pretty good, but my foot was getting sore again and I let him go. Mile 12 in 8:15, mile 13 in 8:01. I was happy that things weren't getting any worse and I was starting to feel pretty confident that I'd be able to finish. Mile 14 in 8:13. By the time the 3:30 pace group caught up with me and I ran with them for a while. Mile 15 in 7:42 and mile 16 in 7:59. At mile 17 I took a short POP stop (8:05) and struggled a bit with the uphill on 18 (8:15) and 19 (8:44). I was feeling pretty queasy at that point and was hoping that I could just barf and get it over with. Mile 20 in 8:58 and 21 in 8:26. I was pretty much just in survival mode the rest of the way. I really, really wanted to just stop and walk for a while, but I knew I wouldn't get going again. Mile 22 in 9:17 and mile 23 in 9:05. Even with the cool temperatures I was feeling overheated and I was breathing like I was running much faster. Mile 24 in 9:05 and mile 25 in 8:59. The last full mile was torture in some ways and exhilarating in others. I got a boost from some neighbors cheering me on and it was nice to run downhill in the shade. I got another boost from the band playing on the corner and then the excitement of the crowd at the finish just pulls you along to the finish. About two seconds after crossing the mat, I felt pretty wobbly and thought I might barf, but I managed to make my way through the misters and find a place to lay down. Wayne was there and we talked for a bit and somebody gave me a cup of ice to rub on my legs (that was so appreciated). After a few minutes I got up and shuffled to my car and drove back to the hotel to pick up my daughter so that we could go back to the finish and watch my wife come in. She looked strong and finished in her best time ever.
As I look back on the race, I'm a disappointed with my time, but really feel like I gave my best effort under the circumstances. I don't know why my foot would start hurting so early in the race. I know I didn't get enough hill training in this year or enough tempo miles. I think it would also have helped a lot to have run more races during the summer. I was happy and grateful to finish with a BQ, however (mostly as a result of moving into an older age group :) | 