I never thought I'd feel good about running a 4:39 marathon. I don't feel great about it, but given my injuries and conditioning, and how hot it was, I am quite satisfied. My hip and IT band acted up some, but on the whole my body held up well and I pulled out of my very limited conditioning about all that was there. I've recovered quite well and actually feel pretty good. Wayne, Kevin and I ran together at about 9:15 pace until after Veyo. At our prodding, Wayne pushed on ahead and Kevin and I stayed together a bit longer. I messed up and lost Kevin between 11 and 13. His already bad knee gradually got worse and he (I think wisely) pulled out at 16. I continued on alone the rest of the way. At 21 I had averaged 10:15/mi. I slowed down and ended up averaging 10:39/mi. Starting at Veyo, I started my plan to take it easy and walk when needed to rest my joints. I think it worked well. I'd usually only walk for 20-30 paces, or until I got my breathing back to normal, but that seemed to be enough to keep my injuries at bay and keep me moving forward despite my lack of conditioning. Now it's time to focus on getting healed over the winter. Next year I'd like to try running after training properly again. | 