One thing worth noting before the race itself – I had access to the Elite tent through the club. I entered and went to grab a bottle of water on the ground but a guy was in my way. I put my arm on his back to sort of gesture that I wanted to get by. He turned around and it was freakin Meb. I said “Oh! Hey Meb!” And he said hey and good luck.

Here’s what went down during the race:

Mile 1 – 5:59 I thought 6:10 would be a quick first mile. I tried to hold back, but adrenaline gets the best of everyone. I could not understand how so many ‘non runners’ were ahead of me. It blew my mind.

Mile 2 – 6:10

Mile 3 – 6:07 Here’s where I linked up with a small Asian guy who was just going the right pace. We ran together until mile 11.

Mile 4 – 6:12

Mile 5 – 6:17 This is where I took my first deep breath. But still felt good.

Mile 6 – 6:14

Mile 7 – 6:13

Mile 8 – 6:20 There was a hill.

Mile 9 – 6:10

Mile 10 – 6:24 There was another hill.

Mile 11 – 6:05 This is the most inexplicable thing that has ever happened to me in a race. When mile 11 started, my Asian friend began to pull away, I felt like I had to diarrhea, and my great plan of closing fast was doomed. I was honestly just wondering how much I would slow down in the last three miles.

Then, as I approached the 11 mile marker, something flipped. I genuinely have never had this happen. I went from feeling like I had to walk to just feeling great. I had given the Asian guy about a 15 second lead but began running him down.

Mile 12 – 5:52 This was aided by a downhill but I felt great running this and could sense the finish. Right at the 12 mile marker I caught my Asian friend.

Mile 13 (point one) – 6:35 Just a glorious last 1.1 miles with me and my Asian friend. We high fived with about a half mile left and ran it in together. After we finished, we hugged. What a day.

80:40 was my final time and my Achilles actually not that bad today, so I’m optimistic about the future. Not particularly fast, not a PR, but a really fun experience.