If only I could explain to you all just how bad the wind was during the second half of the race at Philly...it was kinds of soul crushing.
Was in good spirits going in, the race was delayed 15 minutes but it wasn't too bad. Hit 5:34 at the mile, no problem. From there on out the mile markers were way off but the half and 10K marker were accurate. Ran by feel and for the first part. It's mostly flat with a monster hill at mile 8 which sucked ass. I drafted off a half guy before he split. I ran 1:13:3x for the half rather comfortably. Once we left the buildings, all hell broke loose.
I ran with my teammate Tom and his twin brother Derek uphill into some pretty strong wind gusts which made the miles long and the splits even slower. Good thing I quit paying attention to the splits after the half. It seemed like a never ending uphill until we went across the bridge past 17 and 18. Eventually after 19 or so we did yet another 180 turn and hit some down hill stretches finally. By then I quit caring because it was becoming very painful. I just focused on opening up my form and positive self talk since the 20-26 mile stretch felt like it never would end. I was able to pass 3-4 guys during that stretch and still managed to go sub 2:30.
Overall I was happy but a little ticked because if the wind was still I feel like I could have gone 2:27 high on that course no problem. Luckily I was in such good shape because of my training that the race of attrition at the end did not affect me nearly as bad as many on the course yesterday.
It was a good race but I'm glad it's over for now. The marathon is not my favorite race distance and 10K-13.1 are much better distances to actually race fast than to just survive amd you don't have to eat anything during. Speaking of which I had no issues other than a slight ache once or twice right after I swallowed a gel. I managed one of those right before and two during, hitting every water stop along the way and getting a water bottle at the half. The wind really dried me out. It must have worked because I never bonked due to low sugar. My legs eventually done me in. Couldn't feel them anymore after about mile 17.
Time to recover then have a little fun running some short races this winter and spring. I want to hit a great half time this March, win a race back home, and place well at Cherry Blossom.
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