Winning Back What I Lost

Didn't get out yesterday like I planned; early morning run at 1/2 marathon race pace; felt pretty good and when I heard the Chemical Bros coming through my ipod it was on; out and back to Locust Grove; purchased some new Nike runnning shorts w/ the built in lycra boxers and I love em so far; not such a big deal on shorter runs but I was getting some chafing on longer runs where the elastic on the sewn in briefs contact the skin; I also really like the new Nike shox socks w/ the extra padding; 8:02 pace; one more short run and some X/T on Wednesday and Thursday before I call it quits and rest up for Saturday   

Early morning easy run; felt really strong and, dare I say it cocky; all that confidence went out the window w/ my IT band; started to flare up around the third mile and I shut it down so as not to risk injury; I really don't need this right now; iced it when I got home and will ice again tonight; the wifey was kind enough to schedule a massage tonight too; no idea as to pace as the battery in my Garmin crapped out right away

I finished- and that was enough. I didn't reach my pre-race goal of 3:45 but considering where I started I can't muster any disappointment. I ran the first half just over 1:50 and the second half in 2:11ish. I was at an overall 8:38 pace until I started the hill climb and ended up up w/ a 9:14 pace (9:09 if you count the extra two tenths of a mile I ran during the race). That pretty much tells the story.

Highlights: My family greeting me at the top of the 3 mile long hill comprising miles 18-20; high fiving more than one kid along the way; a sign at mile 22 or 23 that said, "Any idiot can run, it takes a special kind of idiot to run a marathon"- had to chuckle a bit; a fantastic view of Mesa Falls, Warm River, the Tetons, and amber waves of grain; running with my buddy from law school- at least for the first 1/4 mile or so; and giving my finisher's medal to my 4 yr old (her older siblings got the previous two medals from my two half marathons this year)

Not so highlights: Getting up at 3:30 am to get ready and drive from Rexburg to Ashton, ID in time for the runner's breakfast and load up for the 45 min bus ride to the start; Twenty eight friggin degrees at the start which deterred me from exiting the bus with enough time to adequately stretch out; sore left calf and right IT band around the knee from mile 12 on; washboard gravel road for the first 1/3 of the race; a three mile long hill which was about 2.5 miles longer and 3000 ft higher than anything I trained on; two extended porta-pottie stops at mile 10 and 17.

Here are my times:

1. 8:11
2. 8:18
3. 8:22
4. 8:24
5. 8:32
6. 8:32
7. 8:51
8. 8:50
9. 8:29
10. 10:44 (1st pitstop)
    
11. 8:29
12. 8:32
13. 8:18
14. 8:24
15. 8:32
16. 8:38
17. 11:41 (2nd extended pitstop)
    
18. 9:34 (hill climb)
    
19. 10:37 (steepest part of hill climb)
    
20. 10:19 (hill climb)
    
21. 8:52
22. 9:20
23. 9:21
24. 9:51
25. 11:06 (stopped to walk several times w/ sore IT band and left calf)
    
26. 9:47
27. 3:11 (my Garmin 305 says I ran 26.4 miles; obviously I didn't run in a straight line)