I went out pretty quick, which was kinda the plan. I just wanted sub-8 miles to start with. But I felt great, so I just ran the way my legs dictated. I thought I'd stick with the 3:30 Marathoners for a bit, but I pushed on. Then I thought I'd better hang with the 3:20 group, but I passed them too. Same with most of the 3:10 group. I talked to a few people along the way, looking for some company for a while. One guy said he was shooting for 7:30 miles, and I thought, "that's too quick for me. I doubt I can hang with him." Passed him too, half expecting him to overtake me not too long down the road. Somewhere around miles 7-8, 3 guys ran up on me saying quotes from Forrest Gump. "I'm tired. I don't think I'll run anymore." We all laughed and I chimed in, "they said it was a million dollar wound, but i ain't seen one penny of that money." I pulled ahead of those guys too, and in a pretty good mood. Came up on another guy and we chatted about our goals and how many races we'd done, etc. He recommended that I try to do the Chicago Marathon in October as my first one, by the way. We ran miles 9-12 together and pushed eachother pretty hard. My heart rate was climbing steadily up to the 170+ area at that point I think. Finally I passed him and made a strong push to the finish.

run faster?

wandered around for a bit in the finishers area. picked up some snacks and drinks and headed back to the car to meet my dad and wife.


training time.


there were supposed to be bands all over the course, which i was excited about. i thought the atmosphere would be awesome. but over the entirety of the race, i saw 1 dude with a bongo drum, and a dorky guy with a synthesizer. my favorite part was the group that had a tiny boombox playing the Eye of the Tiger. kinda weak, but still pretty cool.
~B