Well, there are probably only a few people out there who will understand when I say that although it was a 2-mnute PR in the marathon, it was a disappointing day. For those who just want a quick summary here it is: great through 15, stomach bugs at 15, stomach causes me to slow down 16 to 18, potty stop at 18, legs never get going again. I feel like it's the same old story and I am sick of writing it.
Here's a longer version for those that are bored and have nothing else to do:
In the week leading up to the race I had all sorts of stuff go wrong that could've hampered my performance: I had a cold, my right glut hurt very badly after Tuesday's workout and drive (it hurt just walking), and Wednesday's run in Vegas was energy-less and my slowest run in probably 1.5 years. But in the end, on Saturday morning none of these things were still a problem and I had high hopes for the day.
I met up with Spencer at the buses and we ran into Dave. It was nice to be amongst familiar faces on the bus and up at the starting area. I had a productive visit to the bathroom and another not-as-productive visit to a secret bathroom and then it was go time. Oh, one other note was that I had a gel in the back pocket of my shorts and it somehow broke open and gel went all over my shorts and behind. It was pretty sticky and annoying. I told Dave and Spencer I hoped that was my only case of bad luck for the day, but turns out it was an omen.
The gun went off and I ran in a pack with Dave, Jake, and Peter. One guy in green took the lead and I asked Jake if he recognized him, he didn't. The first mile was slow and just sort of a warm up, but it felt harder than it should have. After two miles or so we caught the leader and after that it was Jake, Peter, and me running together for the next several miles. I felt sluggish early on but after the hills I felt great and thought it was going to be a good one. Along the way Jake's dad and Andrea provided him support and he was a class act and shared his gatorade every time, which was in a very easy to drink out of bottle. So, kudos to Jake for that, it was appreciated.
Heading into the half I celebrated (prematurely) that it was my first marathon getting through the half without a potty stop. Then I said "knock on wood" but obviously there was no wood to knock on and I had cursed myself! We were 1:11:17 give or take a few seconds at the half...perfect for my assault on 2:23. I picked up mile 14, wanting to get the pace under 5:20. But by mile 15 my stomach started churning and by 16 it was slowing me down to around 5:30 pace. Jake and Peter noticed my slowing and sped up a few seconds creating about a 6-7 second gap that was held until I stopped at 18 to take the potty break. I was stopped for about a minute according to my watch and then I was off again.
But stopping after 18 miles of pounding your legs means you don't get them back. They're gone and you just have to hold on for dear life. I managed one more mile near 5:30 and then the bleeding started. It's the same thing that happens every marathon with me, potty break, one more decent mile, and then 20 seconds slower per mile than before and it slowly gets slower.
By 22 I was just in stay alive and moving mode. My legs just couldn't move properly. It was like a fast shuffle as opposed to a running stride. I was certain Dave was going to catch me and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it but give him a high five and send him on his way. The fear of being passed was the only thing keeping me moving at a respectable pace.
I held on for third place after running 26.44 miles. I was pretty dehydrated at the end, which was my fault more so than the weather's. Sure it was hot and I am used to running in the teens, but I stopped taking water and nutrition after my pit stop. That probably wasn't smart, but for some reason at the time I thought I could manage 8 more miles without anything.
So after the race I was covered in salt and my clothes were very salt-stained. I pounded a few waters, powerades, cokes, and a chocolate milk and 30 minutes later could walk again without much difficulty.
The race was extremely well organized and the after race festivities were great. My family loved it as spectators. The course was a good one, not super fast, but definitely faster than a flat, honest course. On a good day you could really get rolling on this course.
You can check out my splits here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/280119498
| 
