That's how the day started. It was less than 30 degrees at 7:00am when the marathon began. I was amazed at how "bundled up" many people were. I had my shorts, long-sleeved tech-top, a running baseball cap, and a fleece pullover that I planned to pull off at mile 4.5 when I'd see Meyer and Julie.
Everything went amazingly well. My first three miles were paced exactly where I wanted them to be. I started to speed up in mile four, dumped the pullover, and hit the trail strong. I was surprised that when I hit the halfway point, I was still feeling great. A couple miles were directly into the wind and were ridiculously tough, but once I got through that, I was ok again.
When I hit mile 18 in 2:30, I knew I was going to beat 4 hours. I got back on the trail and kept it steady on the last few miles. I crossed the finish line and looked at my Garmin. 3:42:51!
Julie had to wait forever for her relay partner to finish the first half, but once she did, Julie took off and had a great 13.1. She came through with a sub-two-hour half-marathon.
Meyer was awesome in his role as support crew. He took photos, handed me a bottle of Accelerade exactly when I needed it, and was waiting at the finish line.
I am ecstatic about this run. I'm still walking a little funny, but the legs should be back to normal soon.
Here are some photos:
Me at mile 4.5. (Notice my fleece pullover flying out of the way for Meyer to pick up.)
Just past the finish line.
Post-race with Julie at the beach.
The proof! (Somehow my Garmin tracked .16 additional miles.)
