This was a nice small race which I really liked. I finished at 38 of 186 male finishers and had a 32 minute PR! The race temperature started at a humid 58 and went up to 74 at the finish. Knowing this ahead of time, my strategy was to run just a bit quicker for the first half while nice and cool, then hang on for the second half. I managed to hold an 8:40 pace all the way to mile 20, then I hung on for life (with a quickly declining pace) to the finish....but thankfully with a grin on my face. I had run a sub-4 marathon!
The course was a double loop which concerned me. Knowing the second half was going to be much warmer and sunnier, it took some willpower not to continue through the finish chute at the halfway point. After all, I was going to run another marathon in just three weeks. Instead, I followed the sign that told marathoners to turn right. By mile 17, I was wondering why I was seemingly addicted to a marathon. I was holding pace, but I was no longer having fun. For some reason, the hardest miles seem to be mile 16-20. For me, that is a sort of no-man's land. Then, after mile 20, it was very hard, but I knew that I was finally on the downslope to the end. I was into the miles that I never see during training. I was about to finish a marathon....well.