Another one in the books! I came into this year's marathon with tempered expectations. My training was not nearly as consistent as I would have liked. I had only run one training run over 20 miles, instead of the three I had planned on. I didn't adhere to proper tapering schedules, I crammed a lot of long runs just weeks before. I felt so behind. I managed to string some solid runs together while training with my brother. I finished a 23 mile run the week prior just to give me some confidence (I know. I was supposed to be tapering!). We stayed downtown again, for the ease of getting to the starting line with a little extra sleep. The strategy paid off once again. I felt rested and ready to go. Less than a mile into the run, I noticed that my Garmin stopped tracking me. I fiddled with it trying to get it started again and lost about .60 miles of tracking. The malfunction threw my usual strategy for a loop. I couldn't rely on the pace slip as a reference and my readings weren't reliable. Then it dawned on me, this might be a blessing in disguise. Maybe it will be liberating to run without relying on the watch for once. It was. For the first 13 miles I kept between an 8:45 - 9:15 min/mile pace. I was with the 4:00 hr pace group for much of the race. Around mile 16 or so, I started losing them after some water breaks. I expected this so I wasn't worried. I was just happy that I felt as good as I did. My goal was to stay ahead of the 4:30 hr pace group which would bring me in around the same time as I did a year ago. After mile 19 I could feel my pace slowing. As I walked through a water station, a man with a Jamaican accent wearing an orange Hawaiian lei pats me on the back and says "c'mon, let's keep going. each step takes us closer." I smile and start kicking again. I say to him "alright. I'm with you, brother." I run with him for about a mile at an 8:00 min/mile pace, all the while knowing this could very well hurt my finish. I didn't care because I was having fun. After a mile, I decided I should conserve my energy for the remaining miles. I slowed back down to a conservative 9:20 pace. Around mile 21, I felt a hint of a cramp coming on in my right quad. I took a few breaks just to stretch it out. I hoped that it would buy me enough time to finish strong. Instead of stopping at only the water stations like I had been, I started stopping at each mile marker. I stretched each time I stopped. At mile 23, the cramps became more prevalent. My pace slowed considerably to a 10:30 min/mile. This is when the 4:15 pace group caught up to me. I ran with them for about a half mile before I had to stop again to stretch. With less than 3 miles left, I knew a PR was within reach. I just needed to hold it together for the final stretch. I pushed forward. At mile 25, I said a prayer as I usually do. I asked for strength and fortitude. I received it. At mile 26 I see my family. As always, it's the best feeling in the world. Their cheers give me what I need for the last .2 miles. I kicked hard to the end. My legs were like concrete at this point, but I kicked. In the end, I narrowly beat my best time by 11 seconds.
4 hours 19 minutes 41 seconds
Another one in the books. :)
P.S. I forgot to blog about my San Antonio run back in November. I finished the Half in 1:53. A few minutes slower than my Half PR.
P.S.S. A special thank you for my awesome family and wonderful wife for supporting me! I love you all!
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