I decided to just go with the flow today and take what the course and my body would give me today. I took it easy and felt great at the half. The tailwinds really helped on the rolling uphill section from 9-12. It started to get hot after mile 16 but I was still on pace for my first BQ this year.
After my drink at mile 21 I got a really bad side stitch on the bottom of my right rib cage. It made it really hard to breathe. It got so bad that I actually stopped to walk for a minute on the turn off Diagonal St. at about 24.6 miles. I got going again, but it was still an issue. I calculated what I needed for my BQ (3:25) and it was going to be tight. I had to sprint the last 1/4 mile and my Garmin said 3:25:01 when I crossed. CRAP, did I just miss by 1 second? Luckily my official chip time was 3:25:00 so I just made it!
I was running out of gas after the Winchester hill at 19. I don't think I ate enough yesterday as I have been trying to lose a few pounds. I have dropped 6 in the last 2 weeks so I am on the right track.
Pretty happy with the result today... | 