I could not have asked for a better day to run yesterday, granted it was a little on the chilly side, but after about a mile into the run, I shed my sweatshirt and embraced the crisp 35 degree temperature. The sun was out, the winds were calm and the course was primed for a fast finish, things could not have been any better. My goal was a 3:10:59 (~7:16 pace) and as I crossed through the midway point (1:34:45), I was ahead of schedule and could not have felt any better. I was running with the 3:10 pack, conversing with those who wanted to converse, and thinking to myself, “I’ve got this”.

We crossed the 30K (18.6 miles) line in 2:14:31, which meant all I had to do was run 7.6 miles in just under 55 minutes. In my head I was ecstatic, 7.6 miles in 55 minutes, piece of cake, that’s just under 8 minutes a mile. I’VE GOT THIS! Well sports fans, what happened at mile 22 and the remaining 4.2 miles I am not sure I will ever know. Now, I’m not going to get too graphic here, but to put this in simple terms there was a battle between my GI and my legs that was one for the ages, so much so, I had to make four, YES FOUR, #2 pit stops in the remaining 4.2 miles. I think what’s most frustrating about this is that I feel I can run through pretty much any sort of leg pain, muscles cramp, or mental dilemmas that are telling me to stop, but when it’s you vs. your bowels, well that’s a battle you cannot win.

With that said, take a gander at my splits noting in particular the blazing 40 minutes it took me to run the last four miles.

SPLITS
1 – 7:37
2 – 7:02
3 – 7:02
4 – 7:11
5 – 7:06
6 – 7:08
7 – 7:14
8 – 7:15
9 – 7:46 (pee break)
10 – 6:56
11 – 7:09
12 – 7:07
13 – 7:16
14 – 7:12
15 – 7:16
16 – 7:21
17 – 7:14
18 – 7:09
19 – 7:05
20 – 7:19
21 – 7:13
22 – 7:37
23 – 8:22 (stop #1)
24 – 12:07 (stop #2)
25 – 10:16 (stop #3)
26 – 9:14 (stop #4)

Me with my coach and female WINNER of the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Jackie Dikos.

…and with that, marathon number 11 is behind me. Time to find my next race.