Little Rock Marathon

26.2 miles 2:44:39 6:18 average per mile
10th overall out of 2446 finishers. 2nd Master
8:00 am) low 30's sunny and breezy
755 elevation gain
Another marathon under my belt. No PR again but I felt Lucky! Going into this race my
training went well and I was super healthy and ready to PR. My last key workout was
a short tempo run on Wednesday. It went great but as soon as I stopped running I noticed
my calf was very tight and sore. Didn't really think much about it. Just figured it
was a little sore from the effort and maybe because I was slipping somewhat on the snow.
I took it easy the following days. Race day came and it was fine. I went out what felt
easy and ran a 5:34 first mile! My fastest ever in a marathon. shortly after mile one
I felt my calf muscle tighten up. I got concerned. I let off the gas and ran a 6:09
second mile. I became very worried about my first ever DNF. I didn't want that to happen
no matter what. I felt obligated to run until I couldn't. I just kept taking it a mile
at a time. Pain was tolerable and didn't get much worse with time. I would have the
occasional surge in pain but would not last. I was able to pretty much run the pace
I wanted but it was affecting my stride and everything else as I tried to favor it.
At the halfway point I was 1:21:09 well off my goal of 1:18:30. Miles 14-17 are the
hilly miles and I actually did well on these as it felt good to me. Mile 18 I was
in 13th place and passed 3 runners over the next 8 miles. So I still could run
strong just didn't have my wheels working properly. Overall just happy I got to
finish this race and top 10 really made it all worth it. I'm very sore still today
and not sure when I will be able to run normal again. I really beat my body up on
this one.
My girlfriend did the half marathon. This was her first road half marathon. Her goal
was 2:15. She ended up running a 2:07! She did Awesome! I'm so proud of her.
We both really enjoyed our visit to Little Rock. Got to visit with Parents and
Uncle and Aunt. Great seeing them. Also our friends the Ricks from Colorado were at
this race and Justin participated as well in the marathon. He did great 8th overall!
Not bad for a training run. He has bigger races ahead so couldn't really taper for this
one. Look forward to his upcoming events.
The medal again this year was ridiculous. It's so big and heavy close to 3 pounds! It's
much heavier than last years. Don't know how they can top that next year. I hope to
find out as I want to go back. Love this race and the organization behind it. Joyce the
elite coordinator goes out of her way to take care of you. Highly Recommend Little Rock!

b/st5/36