Participated in the 12th annual On the Road for Education Marathon in Mason City, IA. More than likely the last marathon I'll run in Iowa since we have relocated to Springfield, IL. Anyway, instead of recording split details, I'll just summarize the highs and lows. The day was cloudy, humid, with starting temps in the low 50s. I ran very well the first half with the only setbacks being a 1 min bathroom break at mile 5 and running about 3 miles on gravel road. Running on gravel is a bit tricky and kind of like running in sand. I was wearing flats and stepped on a rock which jabbed into the ball of my left foot. It got better as I ran, but this would come back to haunt me later. I crossed the first 13.1 mi in 1:31:30. During the second half I gradually started to fade. The course was interesting because it covered all kinds of terrain, trails, and roads. So the scenery was always changing. A cold wind started to blow through during the second half. My arms were getting a bit chilled. Around mile 16 the ball of my left foot started to burn at the spot where I landed on the rock. It felt like an extreme case of "hot foot" that just got worse and worse with every step. A couple miles later I was going to call it quits. I slowed down and tried to change my foot landing, but it was still burning terribly. Then a bit later it gradually got a little better or I just dealt with the pain better. At mile 23 I was mentally drained. Legs were still moving pretty good, but I had a hard time picking things up. I stopped looking at my Gramin and decided to just stay comfortable, as much as possible, until the finish. Surprised I ended up 4th overall and winning my age division for the first time. Yes, it was a small race, but I still got my first trophy!! Overall, I feel really good about the effort considering the injury, heavier bodyweight, and all the stuff going on in my life. I obtained my "C" goal with a BQ, but more importantly I recharged my running as I slowly got my life back on track this year. | 