Notes
You need a nemesis. The 11.2 is a good candidate. Consider this an easy PR. Run it hard once every couple months as a measure of mid-distance progress.
The good news - great, awesome run. Mile 8 and mile 11 @ 7:20 pace.
Overall 8:54. Slower than Monkey pace at full distance 8:46. Next time you race it, race it. You can do it in sub-8:10. If you can go sub-8:00, you can run a full mary in sub-3:30.
The bad news: current BQ is 7:28 pace. Sure, without hills, but that's a leap. When you can run the 11.2 at 7:30 pace, a BQ is reachable.
Slightly better news: BQ in 2 years is 7:39 pace.
Now the awful news: Sub-3:00 marathon is 6:52 pace. You couldn't do it for one mile yesterday. Imagine 26.
Try this again in late March and again in late May. Sub-8:00 is the goal.
This round went to Mount Motherfucker. But a great run.