DNF in Richmond; my first ever at any distance. No injury, just misery. After a night of thunderstorms, the rain stopped just in time for the race. I understand it was about 95% humidity and 67 at the start, heading well into the 70s. Many of you know I don’t do well in H&H in general and, this time of year especially, I’m no longer acclimated to it. As a consequence, I imploded…fast. Literally, sweat was dripping in my glasses standing there waiting to start! Not my kind of day, to say the least. I abandoned any hope of my target 3:35 and instead did the first half around a 3:40 pace. But I felt miserable from the very beginning. I have never felt so poorly so early in a race. I was overheating (the sun actually came out making it much worse), my HR was racing, and I felt queasy.

Tramps, the EXACT same thing happened to me at a HM back in September.....Isn't it hard to convince yourself that "today's not the day?" I've found it very difficult to run when you are just hoping to stave off disappointment. You did the right thing to meet up w/ the DW. You did the right thing. You're in fine form, and I've really envied your training runs. So...go head up to Philly on the 23rd, maybe? But congratulations to your wife on her HM finish. I didn't know that you had such an enthusiastic partner. Walt

Just got home and read this. I'm so sorry fate was so unkind to you today Tramps! It can be so frustrating when things out of your control sink your plan. Sometimes doing the smart thing is still disappointing. But, it really sounds like you did the right thing. Keep the faith -- you are a really good runner and obviously a fabulous coach!

First it sounds like you are a great coach, I don't think many women would want to be coached by their husbands (except Constantina). Second, bummer. I am a H/H wilting lily too. 65 is my cut off. 42 is perfect. You made the right decision and can now go use that training for the kind of marathon you want to run. So, which one have you picked out?

I had some friends run this today. One friend (in his 40's) ran about 15 minutes slower than his expected time. The other guy (20 years old) ran a 2:54! about 15 minutes faster than last year! Ah, to be so young and healthy! You certainly did the correct thing by DNFing. What's the point in trudging through 13 more miserable miles? Sorry this didn't turn out the way you planned. Congratulations to your wife on her first half.

Thanks for all the supportive comments. You guys are the best! As I’ve said before, for me, marathons are really a way to help structure my daily running and give me that kick-in-the-pants I need to get out there on days when I’m not particularly motivated. Consequently, successfully finishing a training cycle means as much or more to me as the actual race. So while bad luck with weather is a little disappointing, it doesn’t take away from a good training cycle (and a nice 20-mile PR race along the way). Having said all that, one of the first things I did when I got home yesterday was check out MarathonGuide.com and today I signed up for the North Central Trail Marathon in two weeks in Sparks, MD. It'll be good for me to back on that horse, regardless of my finish time. Tim—I thought about your mile 16 exit yesterday. Let’s not make this a habit, okay? Ribs—thanks so much, you nailed my thinking/feelings exactly. Aamos—of course, grins! Enke—“a H/H wilting lily.” I laughed at that one. Yup, that’s me…delicate flower. JustAl—15 minutes faster than last year? That’s insane, it was IRC last year! Byll—aren’t these conditions nearly IRC for you? On the downside, DW has become impossible to live with. Yesterday when we got home it was “The runner who finished their race gets to shower first” and the like. Today it’s “I’m a little sore this morning; I guess that’s because I finished my race.” Grrrr. After I mentioned to her some of the nice comments here about my coaching she said, “The secret to my success in running is learning when to ignore my coach.” The stuff I have to put up with.

That sounds like absolutely miserable racing conditions Tramps. You did the right thing. I know it's disappointing, but just think how much MORE miserable you would feel had you endured a whole 26 miles in those conditions. So I say congrats to you for knowing yourself well enough to know that this race would have likely done more damage than good. And pass my kudos on to your wife for her first HM!

You can tell a wise and well trained marathoner by not letting pride get in the way of common sense. You are already signed up for another one and will do great I am sure. If you had finished you would still be recovering in three weeks from a less than desired result. Congratulations on making the correct decision. Congrats to your DW! Sounds like she keeps you in line pretty good too> Larry