I guess it needs to be mentioned right off the bat that this was the last time for this marathon. Apparently the people of Tampa had enough of all of the crazy crap that goes along with putting on a marathon, so it was the 10th and final time. Since it doubled in size from last year, I wonder if they were "reconsidering" this move in the backs of their heads.
Any who.....the gun went off at 6am and off we went. My goal was a PR, but my ability to pull one off was of great question in my mind. I had an injury the first several weeks of training, and had to completely rewrite my training to a more modest schedule. My fastest had been a 3:17:13, but that had been on the hilly Flying Pig course a few years ago. Did I have another PR in me? At 6am, it was still dark, and would be for nearly the next hour, as we navigated the streets of Tampa. I mentally made the effort to keep my pace down, while knowing that putting some early fast splits is always better for me. Time in the bank usually pays off, but not TOO MUCH, or else a blow up will probably occur. I wanted to average a 7:24 overall, so when the first mile came up a 7:03, that was just fine. There was plenty of spacing between people and I didn't have to play "dodgem" with bad seeds. The early miles of MY race were mostly uneventful, as I did a low 7s. However, there was a course problem around mile 4ish. Apparently someone in the leader group headed down a wrong street and it was not corrected. About 50 yards ahead of me they finally caught the mistake and dragged a barrier across the "wrong" street. I don't know how they rejoined us or when, but Jeff was in that group, and after the race we compared Garmin distance, and he ran about .2 shorter than I did. YIKES! We ran over some bridges, on to an island in the bay, through some nice neighborhoods, but while it was dark, I mostly concerned myself with being careful to keep my pace constant and not trip on pot holes or raised road areas. The sun finally came up to give us a beautiful Florida morning. Blue skies, palm trees and perfect temps. On I went, breaking away from the 1/2 marathon, and then rejoining them, then doing it again. When we split away from the half for the first time, I realized I was mostly running by myself, so I knew I was pretty far ahead of the masses. Nothing hurt and I felt very relaxed until the late teens. Around mile 17, I knew "MY" race was beginning, as I was now having to give some extra effort to hold my splits. Mile 17 was a 7:30, so I poured some speed on for the next one...wanting to hold on as best I could until 20. Mile 18 was a 7:21, but mile 19 was a 7:27. I had plenty of time "banked" by now, and was still running mostly alone, but was about to rejoin the section of the race that had runners coming towards me, so I was hoping they would take my mind off the building pain in my quads. It was a dull pain, but it was increasing at a constant rate, and I knew it was going to be a question of "when", not "if" it became a problem. Mile 20 was a 7:30. Crap. Ok, the next 6 miles would be "damage control" time if I really wanted to pull off this PR. I started playing my little mind game of using distances at "home" to compare my distance left, making it seem more manageable. I also tried to busy my mind with math, trying to calculate what I had to do to hold on to "my race" Mile 21 and I saw Mike pass me going the other direction. He looked pretty fresh and it was good to see a familiar face. Pace...7:38. Now I formed a new plan...TRY to hold this pace until 24, then give it all you got until the end. I came out of the tree line and I could see THE CITY far, far in the distance, and it seemed Soooooooooooo much farther than 4ish miles. We were by the water now, which was a nice distraction, but I could feel the pain increasing and increasing. Come on JIM.....it's almost over. Mile 22 was 7:53. Uh Oh! Math calculation...still fine, but my "safety" line was nearly gone. I focused on breathing, other people, the water...anything to try to take my mind off my legs and the city that didn't seem to be getting any closer. Mile 23....7:53 again. Ok, well at least I didn't go SLOWER than the last mile. Ya gotta take those small victories and "run" with them. Before I got to mile 24, a group of 4 older guys came up behind me and began to pass. I figured THIS was my opportunity to pick up the pace, so I began to run with them. With the increase in pace was a increase in pain, but I was to close now to completely give into the burning. We passed 24 at a 7:56, so I must have really slowed down before picking up with them. Thank goodness they came along when they did. I held on to them for almost the next mile and began to loose them just before 25....7:41. Whew! Ok...one more mile. I could actually hear the crowds screaming in the distance and the city finally loomed in front of me. I began to turn the streets and knew I could hold on for a PR....not MUCH of a PR, but a PR all the same. Finally one last turn and I saw the finish line. My Garmin said 26 miles and 8:09. Almost there. I poured on whatever I had left and tried to make is a smooth finish. Balloons, pirates and cheers, I crossed the line at 3:16:33...taking whopping 40 seconds off my best marathon time. But I was happy, and tired, and in pain, but mostly happy. I walked along to get my pirate medal put over my head, get my picture taken and find some food. Mission accomplished.

Nothing.

I collected some food and drinks, looked for Jeff, and not finding him, walked (hobbled) a few hundred yards to my hotel. Up to room 1420 and took a hot, hot shower, as I was beginning to shiver. Texted Jeff and Brian to come on up to clean up as well.


Injuries early on may have made a difference...but then again, maybe not. My Magic 8 Ball could not give me further insight to this question.


To bad it was the last full marathon here.....I like the city, the theme and the course.