This was my first race since the Boston Marathon. I had no idea what to expect but I knew I would be slow based on the hills there and my lack of specific endurance training. Since coming back from Boston I've only run three speed workouts so I wasn't expecting much. However, I at least thought I would break 34:00. I'm not sure what I was expecting and I don't know really what to think about it now. It is what it is. However, it puzzles me that running 50 mpw last summer and fall I was able to go so much faster but now that I've trained for a marathon and am running more mileage I am so much slower. Perhaps this is because I'm comparing my best end-of-season times from last fall to these times now. Perhaps it is because I've only just started training for shorter races after Boston. Perhaps it is because my training is now so much different with my new training group or that my body has not absorbed the extra benefits from the extra mileage. Maybe it is true what they say about it taking a year to see results from a major ramp-up in mileage with much of that mileage slow. Either way I need to race to get better at racing and that is something I just haven't done with the marathon training. Summer here is hot and humid but don't kid yourself--I plan on being blazing fast (for me) by the time the cool fall comes around. I have to start doing the right things: eating better,doing my morning runs, being consistent with strides and drills, and keeping my mileage consistent. Distance running is a game of patience. I know I'll never be elite but I want to be able to be the best that I can at the sport I enjoy and help others do the same thing. Sure beats wasting my time sitting in front of the TV when I'm not working. Results | 