Notes
5th ($250) Weather turned out pretty nice this morning, mid-40's but a little breezy still. 8-9 mph E wind. Started off w/ the half marathoners so I couldnt really tell where the competition was until 7 miles. Was right on pace early on. the first half felt like a steady tempo as I sat in 3rd place. I was cruising perfectly inside myself, not overextending to hit the pace. At 5, 10, 15 miles I was right on 2:18:30 pace. Right after 15, a pack of 4 guys rolled up on me eand I did what I figure I do best in the marathon. Remain patient and work on what you can control. They gradually pulled away from me but I never let them out of striking distance, there was still a semblance of connection. Legs were getting heavy but couldn't panic. by 18 I was closing and at 19 I had split 2 of them. was still on 2:18:30 pace through 20, 1:45:45. but was fighting an uphill battle for the last 10k. Needed 21:00 for the last 4.2 which was a high demand on failing legs. Thought positively and tried to run 5:10's to catch one of the fleeing competitiors.that didnt happen, was much closer to a 5:30, maybe over. Fought with another runner for 4th place and thought I pulled away over the last 3 miles. we were both dying. The last 2k was controlling the crash, just trying to hold my shit together. my legs were numb from the pace and the last couple intersectionbs w/ potholes almost caused face-plant falls. at 26 I heard I had 20 yards ont he guy behind me. I pressed to open my stride for a final sprint around the turn. the heart was there and I believed I could, but my legs would not oblige. gritted my teeth for the finsla few meters only to have the pursuer snipe me 50m from the line. If someone had held a gun to my head for that last 400m and said you have to beat this guy, I would have been killed. Missed OTQ by less than a minute but very happy overall with how the race and training cycle went. nothing but positivity moving forward!