Heading into Sunday’s Napa Valley Marathon, I was pretty excited about the having a good run. I was overflowing with confidence, I felt good physically, I liked the course profile, and I was coming off a well-executed race in Tampa last weekend. But I put on a display of how NOT to execute a race strategy and I paid the price. My time was fairly respectable at 3:11:47, but I finished about six minutes later than I should have and it was a lot tougher physically than it should have been.

Based on my race last week, I really thought I had a legitimate chance at going after that elusive sub-3 (2:59:59). Everything was working against me in Tampa. I ran a 15K and a 5K the day before. I flew across country and was tired the entire weekend. The race went off at 6 a.m. Eastern time, which was 3 a.m. Sam’s body time, and I woke up at 12:40 a.m. body time. I was also coming off a marathon in Pasadena that really beat me up. But I went out with a semi-conservative strategy, ran a 3:09:44, and probably could have been a few minutes quicker if I had red-lined it and gone for broke.

So, since I was well-rested, running in my own time zone and feeling pretty fresh physically, I decided to go for the sub-3. My plan was to go out and hold at a 6:50 pace and not fluctuate regardless of what the course gave me. I thought that was at the edge of my capabilities, but I really thought it was possible. 6:52 is the pace required for a sub-3, so 6:50 would keep in range depending on the tangents I ran.

Before the start of the race, I didn’t feel as light on my feet as I thought I would. My confidence was down a little bit, but it didn’t really matter. I had enough confidence to try for it, so I did.

Miles 1-5: 6:59, 7:07, 7:07, 6:51, 6:55
Out of the gate, I’m trying to find a rhythm but it’s not there. The pace is fluctuating a little bit, but I’m not overly concerned, because there are some rolling hills early. I’m starting to think it’s really going to be a longshot by about two miles in. I had some tightness in my achilles and calves early, but that’s pretty standard for me for the first four miles or so, especially when I’m really pushing the pace. I felt like the pain was slowing me down, and I really wanted it to go away, because I wouldn’t be able to get into a zone if it didn’t. I was good by four miles in.

Miles 6-10: 7:32, 7:16, 7:19, 7:10, 7:16
I was doubting that I had enough by mile 2, and I never really had confidence that I’d pick it up, but I was hoping for a miracle. I knew there was zero chance by 6.5 miles in. By 6.75 miles in, my right foot was numb and I felt like my gait was a little off. It was better by 8.25, but then my left foot went a little numb. I was better within a mile.

But this is where I wrecked myself. I went into the race optimistic that I could chase the sub-3. But I didn’t have a backup plan. At this point, I was trying to settle into a 7:05 kind of groove. I couldn’t find any consistency, and when a race is underway, you can’t stop and figure it out. So I tried to step it up by heart rate and my body wasn’t responding. I had enough hindsight to know I should have been prepared to call it off at mile two before my body was really rolling and aim for that 7:05 pace. But I knew that all I could was run hard, so that’s what I did. That’s not a good way to run a marathon.

Miles 11-15: 7:21, 7:19, 7:15, 7:28, 7:08
So, I just continued running as hard as I could, trying to hit the best tangents I could. Not a great strategy, but it’s all I had. I really don’t remember a whole lot about this portion, other than the scenery was amazing. I had never really seen vineyards before, but I certainly have now. It was a very peaceful run through a beautiful, serene environment. Well, peaceful aside from the pounding my body was taking.

I got annoyed at one point by a woman who seemed like she thought she was too good to be concerned about anybody other than herself. When I run, I don’t litter. I always throw garbage (cups, water bottles, empty gel packs, etc.) as close to a trash can at an aid station as possible. There’s just no good reason to litter. Well, after we passed through the halfway point (I hit it in the high 1:34 minute), she looked at two pacing bands on her wrist, tore one off and threw it on the ground. That could have easily waited until an aid station, but she littered in the middle of nowhere, messing up a clean, natural environment.

Later, when we were by an aid station, she had a cup of water and took her sweet time drinking it, and that’s fine. We approached a volunteer holding a trash bag and she slammed it down on the ground about one step past her. A mile or two down the road, she had an empty gel pack in her hand. There was a trash can on her left. So she threw it down on the ground on her right. I don’t know if she though she was some superstar elite athlete who was too good to be ocncerned about anything other than her performance, but she wasn’t that special. I made it a point to beat her in the race and I did. But enough about that.

Miles 16-20: 7:40, 7:24, 7:15, 7:17, 7:41
Yeah, so I had nothing. I think mile 16 had a hill in it. I know mile 20 was a long, gradual uphill. I spent these miles knowing that I just had to keep knocking off the miles and get the day over with. I stayed true to my updated strategy of running as hard as I could, nothing else. And I learned the hard way about how terrible that strategy is.

Miles 21-25: 7:15, 7:23, 7:22, 7:30, 7:25
I continued to have nothing. These miles were pretty flat. I went through spurts where I got in a rhythm, but I didn’t hold it too well. The scenery was still awesome, and amazingly, I was picking off runners. I felt a little bit strong, but certainly not fast. I’m starting to get to the point where the weekly races are getting routine. Every mile in the 20s is something different to me psychologically, because the run is nearing an end. These miles seemed to go by pretty quickly. For most of the day, I thought I was going to run in the high 3:09s, but I knew when I couldn’t get moving on flat ground that it wasn’t going to happen. By 22, I knew I was looking at a 3:10 at best, but I could feel it slip away.

Miles 26, .35 (Garmin): 7:22, 2:21 (6:43 pace)
And I finished my 12th marathon of the year. I was glad to have the run done with because it just wasn’t clicking for me today. I get the consolation prize of a BQ with my 3:11, but I’m not thrilled with how the day turned out. I really feel like I could have run a 3:05 or so today, but I blew it. I don’t think I’m really going to dwell on it too much, because I know that if I can run a race poorly while obviously not 100% and still turn in a 3:11, I’m doing something right. I’ll get another chance to run hard in a couple of weeks, but next week is Catalina, a difficult, hilly trail race that I’ll be lucky to run sub-3:45 on.

I know I need to get back to basics and take better care of my body. I could be and should be in better shape. I need to lose weight. I need to work on my core and upper body. I’m going to start taking my fitness a little more seriously, because there’s no good reason not to.

And that’s about it. 12 Operation Jack marathons in the books, 20 percent done! Only 48 to go!

Heading into Sunday’s Gasparilla Marathon in Tampa, I had a ton of confidence. I just knew I’d go sub-3:10. I had plenty of reasons to think I wouldn’t — I only went 3:15 last weekend, I ran a 15K and a 5K yesterday, and the race started at 6 a.m., which was 3 a.m. according to my body time. But I knew I would. And I did.

I run by heart rate, but I’ve had some struggles and I wanted to switch it up this week. I know I’m capable of better times than I’ve been running. I’ve noticed a pattern in my marathons, and I noticed it in my 15K on Saturday — the first few miles are quick and easy and my heart rate is low, but I haven’t been hanging on to speed too well. I noticed in my 15K that I we able to keep a strong effort the whole way through, and my heart rate was a little low when I paced the 3:30 group in Surf City on February 7.

So, my strategy was to go out, try to hold miles in between 7:06 and 7:10 and go sub-3:10. I was really hoping to beat 3:07:21, my fastest time of the year so far, but I really wanted sub-3:10. I need some confidence and I knew I could do it, even if I was sleepy and I ran a couple of races yesterday. I can run a sub-3:10, and I’m sick of 3:12s and 3:13s and 3:15s.

As a side note, I had a couple of things on my mind Sunday. First, it’s the 17-year anniversary of the day my brother Josh got in a terrible car accident that nearly took his life. He was hit on the driver’s-side door of his Acura Integra by a full-size pickup truck. The speed of the truck was 46 mph at the time of the collision. He’s my only brother and I’m lucky to still have him. When I think of February 28, I think of him. And on February 28, I wanted to run a good race in his honor.

Also, I have a supporter named Jen Morgan who was running this race. She’s been great with fundraising and spreading the word and was really looking forward to this as a goal race. I viewed this as her race, and for all she’s done, I owed her a strong run in her race on her course.

So anyways, that’s enough of a buildup. At 6 a.m. sharp, we got rolling. I battled traffic early on and had a little bit of pain in my calves and achilles early, so I took a couple of miles getting into my rhythm. I focused on my pace, not my heart rate, and tried to stay as consistent as possible. The early part of the race was through a nice part of Tampa, but I didn’t get to see it, because it was dark. One thing I did see for the first time in any of my 39 marathons was a man juggling fire. Interesting.

Miles 1-5: 7:15, 7:10, 7:10, 7:08, 7:12

After this point, I felt like I found my groove and I established some consistency. I started to feel some pain in my hamstrings and glutes, but it was nothing more than fatigue. This being my 11th marathon of the year and it’s only February 28, that’s to be expected, I suppose. The marathoners split from the half-marathoners at around 7, so I got some space, which was nice. There was a slight gradual uphill (very slight, like a ramp) and a light headwind in mile 8, so I was a tiny bit slow, but still pretty happy about how I was rolling. I don’t remember a ton about this stretch. I know it was an out-and-back and I started seeing the leaders, then folks who were a little slower.

Miles 6-10: 7:08, 7:10, 7:15, 7:06, 7:06

Somewhere in the next few miles, maybe at about 10 or 11, I saw Morgan and she was a tiny bit behind the 4:00 pace group — about 20 seconds. Her goal was sub-4, so I was a tiny bit concerned. I was hoping to see her with the group. But she said she was doing well when I asked her, and a marathon is a long race, so I trusted her. We mixed back in with the half-marathoners at around 11 or so. They were considerably slower, since they were about 3 or 4 miles behind with the same elapsed time, but I had enough space to pass. I get a charge flying by people and I kept cruising without many problems. I think I hit the 1/2 in about 1:34 flat.

Miles 11-15: 7:05, 7:04, 7:08, 7:11, 7:12.

We split back up again at about mile 15 or 16 and headed down a street called Bayshore that lined the bay. Not tremendously exciting, but it was pleasant. I had plenty of open space at this point, which made the aid stations easy, but it makes it tough to stay strong. I had a pretty good rhythm, but I started feeling some fatigue. One thing about my strategy that I knew but didn’t really dwell on until about 17 miles in is that I was pretty confident I had the ability to pull it off. But there wasn’t much room for error. If I broke down, my time would really suffer.

I started thinking about my family, because it was about 5 a.m. back home. They were all sound asleep! I started thinking about Morgan, because I really wanted to run that sub-3:10 on her course, and I really felt I was on track. And of course, I thought about my brother as it closed in on 8 a.m. local time. That’s what time his accident was, although his accident occurred at 8 a.m. in California. I saw him in his car afterwards that day. Some things, unfortunately, I’ll never forget.

We ran a loop around a park at around 19 and I saw something else I’d never seen in a marathon — a mime directing me on a turn! Interesting.

Miles 16-20: 7:14, 7:12, 7:14, 7:13, 7:09

After we finished up at the park, it was just a straight shot home. The finish was about a 10K away. I wasn’t watching my elapsed time too much, but I checked a couple of times and it looked like it was going to be about a 3:08 kind of day. I saw Morgan when I was at mile 21. She was still about 20 seconds behind the 4:00 pacer, so I know she was hanging back, waiting to push it. She said she was going to make a move at 20. I told her, “Go get your time, I’m getting mine!”

I think I spoke too soon. At about mile 22 I hit some moderate headwinds. Not too strong, but enough that they slowed me down a little bit. At around mile 23, the lower part of both quads started to feel a little bit wobbly. I wasn’t looking at elapsed time, but I thought I was looking at a 3:08 or 3:09. I knew it was guts time, that I was going to have to tough it out. I was definitely going to have to empty the tank.

Miles 21-25: 7:18, 7:16, 7:28, 7:32, 7:25

I started looking at elapsed time with about a mile to go and knew I had to fight the pain and maintain my stride, because I could tell I couldn’t increase my turnover. I’d worked too hard and executed my race too well to not hit my goal. You can’t let 25 miles go down the drain over one poor mile. And this was my only chance to deliver on Morgan’s course and to hit my goal on my brother’s day. I didn’t have a ton of kick, but I had enough and moved pretty well in that 26th mile. I saw the finish up ahead and knew that it was going to be a close call. I’m confident I gave it all I had today.

Mile 26, final .35 (Garmin): 7:11, 2:16 (6:28 pace)

Final time: 3:09:44. My second-fastest of the year, 10th fastest out of 39 overall, and my 17th Boston qualifier. Is it as fast as some races I’ve done? No. But as I always say, I’m hard on myself and it’s all relative. Today, I’m happy. I went hard, executed my race and got the job done. I can head into Napa next week with a little bit of confidence. I’m not going to decide on my goal until Thursday’s blog, but I expect more out of myself up there.

Side note: After the race, I waited to see Morgan finish. I saw five or six people wearing Operation Jack t-shirts and I knew that was her cheering squad. It was totally awesome to see them in those shirts. Words can’t really describe it, so I won’t bother trying to write them. But we waited, and she came in with a 3:57. And my brother had a good workout at the gym. All-in-all, a great day!

I’m unfazed when I look at my schedule of 60 marathons this year. They’re not easy, but I don’t dread them. But I was certainly not looking forward to a pair of races I had this morning — a 15K and a 5K. Those distances are tough!

I ran the races as part of the Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa, Fla. Tomorrow, I’ll run the marathon. Here’s a quick race report for the 15K and the 5K.

15K
Shorter races like a 15K are difficult, because in order for me to earn a time that I’m capable of, I have to run very hard for a considerable amount of time. It’s not an endurance test — it’s a speed test. And it’s a pretty tough burn.

I really hate 10Ks. They’re by far my least favorite distance to run. I had never run a 15K before today, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I figured it would be a little bit less painful than a 10K, but since it’s 50 percent longer, I was thinking it would just be a long, slow death.

The 15K came first today at 7 a.m., which was 4 a.m. body time for me. I was a little on the sleepy side, which might have been good. Maybe I’d be too tired to feel the pain! The race calculators said I should probably have run somewhere mid-1:01. I’m not very good at shorter distances, and I’m obviously not 100 percent considering I’ve run 10 marathons this year, so I was really hoping I could run sub-1:02. That would have been a good confidence boost. In reality, I thought I was probably going to run a 1:04.

I wasn’t concerned as much about my heart rate like I normally am, because I don’t know what I’m supposed to run a 15K at. I just tried to keep my average pace below 6:40. We took off and I was moving pretty well on the pancake-flat course, so I gradually pushed my heart rate up and didn’t worry about my pace.

I hit the first mile in 6:19, knowing I wouldn’t hold that pace, but my average heart rate was only 160, so I wasn’t worried. It was time in the bank, although banking time is never a strategy I use. I knew my pace would creep, I just didn’t know how bad.

I went 6:36, 6:48, 6:49 and 6:48 in the next three miles, settling into a pretty good groove. I didn’t feel any terrible fatigue and my legs were turning pretty consistently. I didn’t feel any slow stretches. I knew I wasn’t going to be turning 6:40s, but I felt decent and I didn’t feel any kind of a fade.

Miles 6-7-8 went 7:01, 6:58, 6:54. The course was basically an out-and-back on a road along a bay called Bayshore and coming back, there was a little bit of a headwind. Light, but it was there. Looking at my miles and knowing I had a headwind for 4-5-6, I’m thinking my output and effort was very consistent for six consecutive miles.

At about 8.3 miles, I heard a techno version of “These Boots Are Made For Walking” coming from a setup along the course and for whatever, my body decided it was time to roll. I thought it was early, but my body was going against my mind’s advice. I started thinking that if I bonked a little bit at the end, at least I’d know I left it all out there. I went 6:38 that mile, passing several people and not really getting passed a whole lot.

The last .37 on my Garmin was at a 6:07 pace. A little bit of a kick, but not huge. I crossed the line in 1:03:02, a time I can live with. I’m not a speed guy, I’m not tapered, I’m not fresh, and I missed where I should be by about seven seconds a mile. I took it as a confidence boost.

5K
I was really not looking forward to the 5K after the 15K. 5Ks are tough, because you have to run so fast, but they’re over pretty quick. My PR is 19:20, more proof that, considering my marathons I’ve run, I’m not a speed guy. That race was in October 2008, and on that same course in 2009, I ran a 20:31 or something like that. I missed five weeks of running last summer with an ankle injury, and I had a miserable time fighting my way back. I’m not all the way there yet, but I’m getting pretty close.

Anyways, I had several thoughts about my goals. I think I’m pretty strong right now, even if I’m fatigued, and I wasn’t ruling out a PR. I had a donation offer if I beat 19:30, so I wanted to do that. But what I really wanted to do, because I didn’t want to have unreasonable expectations, was to go sub-20. That would give me a pretty good indication that I’m doing pretty well and getting back into shape. No way would I get 100 percent out of myself in this race, because I was 90 minutes removed from a 5K, six days removed from a marathon, etc. But I really expected at least a sub-20.

It was chilly (mid-40s) and started to rain a few minutes before the race. It wasn’t a torrential downpour, but it was definitely heavier than sprinkles. Coming through the start, I got pretty frustrated for the first 3/4 of a mile or so. WAY too many people started in the wrong place, and I had to keep dodging. I don’t demand that people don’t wear iPods during races, but I get mad when they start up front when they know they shouldn’t, then can’t hear when I’m coming up on them. The road was also a little slick. Not icy slick, but I could definitely feel that it was a touch slippery.

I needed about a 6:15 pace for the race, and I knew if I wasn’t anywhere close to that for the first mile, it was going to be a frustrating race. I went 6:26, and knowing I was 11 seconds in the hole just like that, I figured all I had to chase was sub-20. I didn’t really feel the burn like I normally do in a 5K, but I didn’t have anything to really go with. Mile 2 is usually my worst mile in a 5K, but it wasn’t difficult today, even though I only ran a 6:39. I really didn’t have anything to go with and I could tell that sub-20 was slipping away pretty quickly. Mile 3 was only 6:42.

It was becoming pretty obvious to me that I was going to struggle to even catch my 20:31. I kicked at a 6:00 pace for the final .13, but it was too little, too late. 20:33. I’m pretty hard on myself for my individual performances, but I was very disappointed with this one. I know it doesn’t mean much in regards to my marathoning, but I just wasn’t very happy.

What Does It All Mean?
Hmmm, well, I got two medals to give to my kids. And two tech shirts to give to anybody who wants them. I wasn’t happy with my speed today, but I was pretty happy that I didn’t fade much. All in all, I’d say I can walk away from these two races with a little bit of a confidence boost as I head into tomorrow’s Gasparilla Marathon.

The best part about running a forgettable race is that I can forget about it. That’s what I intend to do with today’s run in the Pasadena Marathon. I went 3:15:23, but it was far from a memorable experience and I’m looking forward to moving on from this one.

My Pasadena Marathon race day got off to an ominous start when I parked, as I realized I forgot to bring my PowerBar. My standard pre-race meal is a cinnamon raisin bagel and a full serving of UltraFuel (a sports drink) at least two hours before the race and a PowerBar within the final 15 minutes before the start. I was a little bit antsy, wondering how my energy levels would hold up. One unique thing about my year, though, is that if something goes wrong, I get another crack the following week. So I didn’t totally panic.

I got over to the start line with plenty of time to spare, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I was a little bit depressed, because I had a great day with the family on Saturday. Why did that make me depressed? Because it made me realize what I’m missing. But I have a job to do, it’s for a great cause, and Jack is already reaping the benefits with the treatments at Advanced Hyperbarics in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. So the gun fired and I went.

As always, I ran by heart rate. I was moving pretty well early, averaging somewhere around 6:40 for the first couple of miles. I struggled later, but I firmly believe those miles didn’t cost me. I take what the course gives me, and it gave me some quick miles at a low heart rate.

Within about three miles, I was mentally checked out. I didn’t want to be out there, but I knew I had to run the race. My legs didn’t feel too hot and there was a long, gradual uphill between about 2.5 and 4. By the time I reached the top of that incline, I had mentally decided I wanted the run to be over. Normally, that happens at about 22 for me. So this was unusually early and I had bad vibes about the day.

The course itself was nice, running through all parts of Pasadena. It went through some incredibly nice neighborhoods, some OK neighborhoods, right down Colorado Blvd (I think that’s the Rose Parade route), alongside the Rose Bowl for quite a while and through some other various tree-lined areas. All-in-all, it was a pretty nice 26.2-mile foot tour of a beautiful city.

Anyways, I was plodding along and kind of going through the motions. Part of me was realizing I needed to keep moving, because my time sticks with me forever, but part of me really struggled to want to keep rolling. We did an out-and-back around the Rose Bowl area that accounted for about four miles of the race and on my way out at about mile 12, I got in a groove and my legs actually started moving fairly well.

We mixed back in with the half marathoners shortly thereafter and I always get a charge passing people (they were running about 4 minutes/mile slower that I was at that point). We hit a second uphill from 13 to 15 that was a 300-foot gain that was pretty tough. I moved so-so coming out of there, but not great. Still, better than I did in Austin last week when I struggled coming out of a big uphill at 18.

The weather had been mostly overcast, but the sun started peeking out about two hours into the race. I figured I was tracking for somewhere right around 3:10, but by about 18 or 19, I could tell that I was starting to grind a little bit. By about 20, I revised my estimate to about a 3:11 or 3:12.

There was a gradual uphill between 20 and 21, and by the time I hit the turnaround to come back down, I knew I was done. I wasn’t moving and I knew my time was going to slip. I started hoping for a 3:13 or 3:14. I got a pretty bad side stitch at 23.5 (for those of you non-runners, it’s a bad stabbing pain in your abdomen) and the shuffle was on. I was just trying to hang on my best for a Boston qualifier (sub-3:16). I don’t need a BQ for next year, but that’s always an indicator to me that at least my run wasn’t horrible.

My miles crept up towards that 8:00 pace, but I dropped down to a 7:32 for mile 26 and a 7:02 pace for the final whatever it was (.36?). I crossed the finish line 3:15:23 after I started, good for my 16th BQ. It was good for 27th overall out of 1,066 finishers. Not my greatest performance by any stretch of the imagination, but in a way, I guess it’s a nice that when nothing seems to click, I can still run a fairly decent race.

Next up, Tampa. Time to start trying to get fired up!

I headed into the Austin Marathon today knowing it was going to be a tough day. I’m coming off of a two-marathon weekend, I’ve had a hectic week behind the scenes, and the course is far from easy. But I did what I always do — I went out and ran as fast as I could.

My gameplan was the same as it always is. Go out, try to keep the heart rate between 170 and 172 and keep on rolling. I know not to worry too much about my time, because I’ll max it out if I run my race correctly. I was concerned about how strong I’d be. My legs felt a little heavy, which I expected. I ran two marathons last weekend, and the last time I came off a double, I had the same problem from about mile 2 (Arizona Rock ‘N Roll, January 17) and I struggled through a long, painful run.

The course looks very challenging on the profile view. Some quick stuff early, but then a long, slow death from miles 6 through 18. Afterwards, it’s a big, gradual downhill finish. In a way, it reminded me of Boston. You have those four hills in Boston late that will chew you up, but if you can make it through, you can fly the last five miles. With that 12-mile stretch in Austin, though, I wasn’t expecting an easy day.

I felt kind of OK early, moving at a fairly good pace through those first few miles that had some uphill. My legs didn’t feel like they had any spring, but they were turning fairly well. I think my pace early on was averaging somewhere around 7:10/mile. Coming down the fast part of the course early into mile 6, I was moving quicker and staying within my heart rate target. I don’t remember my miles, but I remember one at 6:36 that I was happy about.

By the 6-mile mark, my pace for the race was about 7:01 and I was feeling fairly well. But I knew the long uphill was coming. Well, mile 7 was a breeze, probably something in the 7:10 range, and I started getting (gasp!) a little bit of confidence. I ran a few miles in that 7:15 range and then I consistently start turning miles right around 7:30 through the bulk of that uphill stretch.

All day long when you’re running, you can kind of guess where you’re going to finish, and the way my pace was slipping, but the way I was taking the downhills, I really though I had a chance to push for a 3:06 or so. It looked like I was going to come out of 18 at about a 3:08 pace, but I figured I’d turn it on.

Well, something happened. I’m not sure what, but I totally ran out of gas by about 19. In that first downhill mile, when I thought I’d run in the 6:40s, I went 7:05 (I think). Right when we crossed the 20-mile mark, I could feel that I was totally out of gas. I couldn’t pound the legs hard enough to get my heart rate up to 170. I started ticking off miles at 7:47, 7:51 and another 7:47. I knew I was slipping, but I didn’t know how far. That 3:10 was disappearing pretty quick and I was doing the math and thinking I was going to get my third 3:13 out of nine races this year.

A tiny bit past 25, I turned it on and went for broke. I hate doing that, because that means maybe I left something out on the course earlier, but I was really stiff and I think I would have really struggled if I tried to push it harder earlier in the 20s. There was nothing there. But for that last mile, I got my ticker going past 180 and picked off quite a few people. I hit the finish strong, which is fun, but also an indicator that maybe I left a little bit out there.

Whatever the case, I went 3:12:38. I’m totally content with this run individually, because it was a tough course and I’m not 100 percent right now. And now that I’m 35, it’s a Boston qualifier! Not the sub-3:10 I like to run, but I’m content with how I’m doing. And of course, I’ll get another shot next week in Pasadena!