Who moved the finish line!!! Guess the cats out of the bag... 16 miles - 2:06:03 - 7:53 pace...right where I wanted to be, and SHOULD have been at this point, then plans to finish strong. Didn't know the exact pace till I got home and plugged the miles and time into a pace calculator. Tired, so I'm going to make this short (Mary say's, yeah right) First I want to say that Kelly was a hoot and a joy to be around. Ribs said she was tall, blonde, attractive...she was. But don't think "single" with some calls to a guy where she said...hun, dear, and I love you. Oh, that's fine and I didn't care....I was there to race! I picked her up from the airport Friday afternoon, and we had dinner then went to bed fairly early. I was bright eyed and I swear I never fell asleep the whole night, and my heart was pounding with anticipation of the race...this was not good. The training is done, (well, not really) the race and the party is over and I'm at home. I was really fine talking to Ribs and Holly after the race, but reality has hit. I am sitting here with tears streaming down my face as I type this. I KNOW I did the right thing stopping, but feel like I disappointed soo many people that knew what kind of Marathon I could run...now I have to tell friends and co workers that "won't get it". Oh well... Heck, they think I was going to finish first... people just don't understand even though I try to explain things to them. This morning the weather was perfect, 50 cool degrees and no wind. I toed up to the front and the gun went off (I had BQ in my sights and I was sure of it, had to be). I crossed the start line in just seconds and the race was off. I promised to take off easy, and easy I did. 100's of runners passed me, but that was fine...I will catch the chumps later. I then thought of alll the hard workouts, long runs, the fast track workouts, irratating Ribs to know end, stubbornly working through pain, over acheiving, doing more than what was expected....etc..I WAS READY in a cocky way...comes from my cycling days where you HAD to be that way. Ok, found out Garmins DON'T work around tall buildings, so I had to run by feel, YIKES. I did ask folk along the way what their pace was, and I was pretty much right on target...WTG Tim. In short...I felt good in the beginning stages with no real pain what so ever, and thought maybe I would be ok. At mile 13 I started feeling some pain and knew I had a decision to make. 99 % of the time I am going to go for it no matter what damage I do to myself. But knew if I did I could cause damage that would last for weeks or months. At mile 14 the pain was getting worse and knew I had to stop. I went ahead to the next mile marker 15 and slowed and waited for Kelly as we had plans if everything went well. I ran with her till mile 16 then stopped. I thought I could forget time and just run easier with her, but decided that was not wise I stopped, and quickly there were people helping me. The EMT put a splint and ice on my left foot and I sat down and waited for someone to come and get me.I was very cold because of how sweaty I was, and they covered me with sheets and whatever they could find. It took almost an hour for a SAG vehicle to take me back to the finish line, which was perfect timing as I saw Kelly right after she finished. We went sight seeing and then we ate lunch. I then took her back to the airport to catch her ride home...I gave her a hug and said good bye and thanks for her help. Where do I go from here...I don't know. But KNOW I have a BQ in me, and should have had it today..stoopid foot. You all have been a HUGE inspiration and help...hope I didn't disappoint ya too much. Man, I am just as sore as if I ran 26.2. But I think the lack of sleep, and NOT running at all for a week made things worse..I can't go that many days without running, and do well. Thanks guys!!! Oh yeah, I was shirtless and it was cool when some ladies shouted "shirtless, that's what we're talk'n about" only I could pull that one off today wimmin.... I did the right thing, TimBo Ok, time to dry up the tears and move on!!!!. Sorry if this is sloppy with mis spelled words...didn't feel like going over it again.

People here are proud of you, and you will see that tonight, tomorrow and the days ahead. You started a difficult event with an injury, which is courageous, and you were wise enough to stop when you knew it wasn't right, which was smart. I know how much emotion goes into a DNF and I sympathize, but tomorrow is another day. Stay positive and think of the future possibilities, given the condition you are in. You now know what you can do and you will run a very strong marathon very soon. Rest up the foot. I'm also glad you met my friend Kelly. She is a great person and a good runner. As for her "I love you's", heck, she loves about 50 of us. Join the crowd of the many guys who just plain adore her. You now have a new running friend from this weekend adventure. Tomorrow in the light of day, I bet you will revise your thinking about this report, but for now I will just say that you are a very good runner. Spareribs

{{{{Tim}}}} I know for a fact that you have not dissapointed anyone that belongs here and I doubt very much that you have dissapointed anyone at home either. Yes, there are people that don't understand .... I can't even tell you how many people asked me how long my marathon was. Umm - a marathon IS 26.2 miles. You were very brave to give it your all and you were very smart to stop when you did. We all applaude you for that decision. Get some rest - in the next few days you'll see things in a new light. Plus, you have that new gal-pal Kelly! Hang in there - we all love ya!!

disappoint us? Never. Proud of you? Always

Tim, I was tremendously worried that you would do some real damage to yourself. I should have known that, besides being a tremendous runner that has talent to burn, you also showed that you are a smart runner as well. There is always another race. But there is not always another leg, or foot, or whatever injury we may get. Making it worse could have been a long term problem. This is disappointing to you, sure. The Marathon is a race like no other. It can be merciless. But please look on this as just another training run on the way to what will eventually be a breakthrough race. Your fan, Bill

I am so so proud of the smart racing you did. You have talent and will have many more opportunities to peak just at the right time for an easy BQ! Perhaps practicing getting some sleep the night before a race should be part of your next training cycle. IT can really mess up your HR etc. Shirtless in Seattle, now that's what I'm talking about!

Tim. I know how disappointed you are right now, but you did the right thing. Only you know your pain level, and it was bad enough for you to stop. We're proud of you for making a really tough decision. Sleep well - you've earned it. What was Scarlet's line? "Tomorrow is another day."

Tim, so sorry your race didn't work out as you had hoped and trained for. What a disappointment! But your 16 miles was speedy, right on pace, and you got to meet Kelly, and you made a smart call to stop when the pain got worse. Rest up for a bit, and get back out there with your 5-year old training partner at your local track. Maybe there are some good marathons down in Texas over the winter and you can run with Kelly again! Hugs to you, friend.