3:56:15
I should probably be disappointed, but honestly, I'm pretty happy.
Right from the start, the pace felt harder than it should have felt. The first mile was crowded and I ran about 8:30 and then I did 4 miles right around 8:00 pace, but it felt like work. Plus, my legs just didn't feel loose. My left hip and achilles felt tight and something at the front/top of my right leg felt wrong.
In the sixth mile, I decided I needed to get a mile under 8. Of course, I overdid it and ran 7:30. My split at mile 6 was 48:07, but I knew I was in trouble for 3:30.
At mile 7.5 or so, we turned into a stiff wind and I was fighting to run 8:30s. By the 9th mile or so, I'd decided I was going to call it a day at mile 16, when my wife and kids were going to meet me with a flask of Hammergel.
Just past mile 13, for a brief second, I thought maybe I'd continue. Then I decided that was ridiculous. Things were only going to get worse and I'd just done a 1:50 half marathon.
But, about mile 15, I decided that there wasn't a really good reason to quit. I wasn't hurt, I was still moving OK, even though pushing early had taken quite a bit out of me. So, I decided to stick it out.
I told my wife at mile 16 that I'd probably run 3:55. The rest of the way, I just tried to stick to a steady pace and keep moving.
So, no Boston qualifier. But, in the second half of this year, I've run my fastest times at 5K, 5 miles, 1/2 marathon and the marathon since I turned 40. How can I be disappointed with that?
Time to shower and head home.
7 comments:
Great effort, Damon. BQ, Schmee-Q, you still ran well.
Oh, for the days when I was disappointed with a 3:56. :-)
Nice job; savor the result. It sounds as if it wasn't the easiest day to run.
It's got to feel good finishing even when missing the target. Way to be strong mentally and stick it out on a day when the stars don't align.
Weird how sometimes your body just says "not today." You'll probably never know why.
But all those over 40 PRs -- way to go!
Hey, I think that a 3:56 is a pretty sexy time. All the COOL people are finishing in the high 3:50's!
I'm sorry that it didn't work out the way you wanted it to, but I'm glad that you stuck it out. I'm sure if you'd dropped out you would have felt just rotten after all your hard work. I'm glad that this way you have a result you're happy with.
I hope you're still happy with it on Tuesday, when most of the pain is gone and you have some distance between you and the finish line. You should be, but I know when that day comes you won't be listening to reason.
Well at least I'M happy for you!
You have such a healthy attitude about running and racing. I really admire that. Nice run....a marathon is tough both mentally and physically and a finish ALWAYS deserves congrats!!!!!
Claire,
You are right that all the cool people run in the 3:50s these days. Someday I'll hopefully be uncool enough to run in the 3:20s again.
And, it's Tuesday and I'm still OK with my run. As a matter of fact, I'm a lot more OK with my run than you seem to be with a training ride over the weekend.
Oh yeah, despite the fact that it's Tuesday, most of the physical pain is not yet gone. I'm pretty beat up.
Thanks to everyone else for the kind words. Sometimes, the day just doesn't go as expected.
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