I finished- and that was enough. I didn't reach my pre-race goal of 3:45 but considering where I started I can't muster any disappointment. I ran the first half just over 1:50 and the second half in 2:11ish. I was at an overall 8:38 pace until I started the hill climb and ended up up w/ a 9:14 pace (9:09 if you count the extra two tenths of a mile I ran during the race). That pretty much tells the story.
Highlights: My family greeting me at the top of the 3 mile long hill comprising miles 18-20; high fiving more than one kid along the way; a sign at mile 22 or 23 that said, "Any idiot can run, it takes a special kind of idiot to run a marathon"- had to chuckle a bit; a fantastic view of Mesa Falls, Warm River, the Tetons, and amber waves of grain; running with my buddy from law school- at least for the first 1/4 mile or so; and giving my finisher's medal to my 4 yr old (her older siblings got the previous two medals from my two half marathons this year)
Not so highlights: Getting up at 3:30 am to get ready and drive from Rexburg to Ashton, ID in time for the runner's breakfast and load up for the 45 min bus ride to the start; Twenty eight friggin degrees at the start which deterred me from exiting the bus with enough time to adequately stretch out; sore left calf and right IT band around the knee from mile 12 on; washboard gravel road for the first 1/3 of the race; a three mile long hill which was about 2.5 miles longer and 3000 ft higher than anything I trained on; two extended porta-pottie stops at mile 10 and 17. Here are my times: - 8:11
- 8:18
- 8:22
- 8:24
- 8:32
- 8:32
- 8:51
- 8:50
- 8:29
- 10:44 (1st pitstop)
- 8:29
- 8:32
- 8:18
- 8:24
- 8:32
- 8:38
- 11:41 (2nd extended pitstop)
- 9:34 (hill climb)
- 10:37 (steepest part of hill climb)
- 10:19 (hill climb)
- 8:52
- 9:20
- 9:21
- 9:51
- 11:06 (stopped to walk several times w/ sore IT band and left calf)
- 9:47
- 3:11 (my Garmin 305 says I ran 26.4 miles; obviously I didn't run in a straight line)
My actual moving time was 3:56
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