The big event went well. I am proud of executing my plan well. I said first half was at 4:56 pace, 1:44 total. My splits were so even its crazy, all 4:5x's, and we crossed the half line at 1:44:09. All that without any huge forcing to slow or speed, just natural. Sometimes running with Casual, and often our personal pacer bgroot. Still if they slowed down I would just ease ahead at my pace.
Kms 21-35 I pretty much ran near my goal for there of 5:01s, plus or minus 10 seconds. Bgoot left at 27K to get a little tempo in, just as well as I needed to zone. It was great while it lasted , very nice of you Brian to pace our little shallonge.
Starting around 35K not unexpectedly it got a little tougher and slower. Pace average edged up towards 5:20 as my leg muscles threatened to cramp. Walk through water station to take a gel, 5:19. Stop to stretch, 5:17. The hills, 5:40s. In between, around 5:10. So, I ended up 3:33, 3 minutes over my goal. Its what I had and I am happy with it. A PB and a BQ. Second in the shallonge, I never had any real expectation to beat Dave. Did I mention I am now qualified for the next 2 Bostons?
The real news of this race was the manic gathering. Young and old, newbies and the originals. It really blew me away, it still hasn't gotten old to be a maniac. I don't know what impressed me more, those who stayed over Saturday night or got up at 4 AM to drive here Sunday morning, just to cheer! Who does that? Maniacs! God bless you , it made a real difference so many times all weekend. Special shout-out to the worlds greatest fan, Jo-Jo the Hula Girl.
The shallonge was fun too, especially the trash talk. Other runners all did so amazing. Special shout-out to the amazing Robbie-T, its always a privilege to play a small part in your racing successes. Dave congrats on that potato thing. I still suspect that you tanked your race just to stay in the shallonge and not get kicked out for running a 3:20.
Next up for me is New York Marathon in 4 weeks, the final act in my dream year. Then I'm pretty sure that I 'll pass on a full in the spring, concentrate on chasing some shorter distance PBs. The half is such a nice distance. I do think I can run 3:30, I guess next chance is a year from now. Then its Boston 2010. One thing i know is I'll always be a running maniac!
