Notes
I did it! Another big marathon PR on a challenging course!
This race was basically everything I expected it to be. The first 20ish miles were very quick and mostly downhill (aside from a few rolling uphills and a bunch of beautiful paved trails). My goal was to go out in 6:20-30 for the first 10 to 12 miles, drop to sub-6:20 through 20 miles, and then either maintain or attempt to get faster in the final 10k. I was nearly spot on (minus a few quick miles I couldn't control) ... until the last 5k. That HURT, probably more than anything I've ever felt before. I was practically crawling by the time I got to Cooper's Hill, I will never understand how I got over it -- or the one on Electric St. -- but I did it! I knew all I had to do was finish, as I had plenty of time in the bank. The result was a new best time by a minute and a half! The feeling of relief at the end was unreal. The best part is I fought from 22nd place at mile 8 all the way to 7th place by the end! I got first in my age group, too!
In hindsight, this would have been a perfect run if I had cleaned up those quicker miles in the first 20 miles, but as a whole, I really ran this thing smart -- maybe smarter than any longer race I've hit to date. People were dropping off left and right way before I did. Those hills at the end were going to suck regardless. I know I can run even faster on a course with a quicker finish, and that's awesome! In the meantime, though, I am absolutely thrilled with how I did today! I'm so happy all that hard work and time paid off in the end!