My feet, ankles, knees and hips are killing me. They are as stiff as a board and every time I take a step forward it feels like my joints will collapse under the weight of my body. Surprisingly, I’m not out of breath – actually I’m not really tired at all (yet). If my legs had held out, I could have run much further, and faster. But they didn’t hold out for me. So now I’m on the bus and headed to the hotel to check out and enjoy the offseason. I didn’t finish the way I would have liked to, but it was a great experience and (as crazy as it sounds in my current state) I’m looking forward to the next marathon – one that’s not past the point of where I need to stop and recover from training for other races all year.

I Finished!! 4:28. No where near where I would have liked to have finished, but I made it under 4:30 and now the offseason is here and I can rest! Now I need to figure out if I can walk to the bus….

I see the finish line. My watch says 4:27 – GO!!!

Mile marker 25. I can see mile marker 25. That means there’s only 1.2 miles to go. I have to pick up the pace if I’m going to get there in time. This is going to be close. This is going to hurt.

Mile 24. I have to walk again. I’ve been running/shuffling/dragging my right leg along and I have to rest for a few seconds. I’ve never felt my joints this stiff or the sharp pains I’m getting when I try to run. I’m only going to walk for a few more meters and I then I have to figure out a way to get moving faster. 4:30 is almost here.

Mile 22 1/2. Ok calm down. Your wasting energy getting so pissed off. 4:30 is coming up soon. There’s nothing you can do about your legs now. This is where you are so deal with it. The new goal is below 4:30. There’s a power-walker up ahead. Pass him. MOVE!!

Mile 22. I can’t believe how screwed up my legs are! I knew this was going to be a tough day but this is ridiculous. I missed 3:30. I’m about to miss 4:00. I can not let myself finish higher than 4:30! I can’t believe this is happening!

Mile 20. 6.2 miles left. I’m so disappointed. I’m walking again. I can’t believe I’m walking. There’s no way I’ll finish between 3:30 and 4:00 now. Today wasn’t supposed to be a record finish, but my legs shouldn’t be feeling this bad. Should they? Can’t look the spectators in the eye. Man this sucks.

Mile 18. What is happening??? I’ve tried walking/running off and on and my legs are getting worse. My joints are tightening up! Stopping to stretch at that last water stop doesn’t seem to have helped at all! Ok, so 3:30 may not be possible, but I can hit 4:00 as long as I don’t walk any more. My hips are killing me and I’m starting to get this sharp pain in my knee. I’ll try to just slow my pace way down. My time over the first part of the race wasn’t bad so let’s just focus on 4:00.

Mile 17. Uh oh. That doesn’t feel right…

Mile 15. Ankles are a little stiff but as long as things don’t get too much worse I should still come in between 3:30 and 3:45. This is an awesome course. So many spectators out!

Mile 13. Half way there! Keep fueling and this thing will be over soon. 1:50 isn’t a bad half marathon. The weather is awesome today! I wonder if I’ll even be tired after this race?

Mile 6. 20 miles to go! Feeling awesome! Course is still a little packed but it’s beginning to thin out. My pace feels good. Time to eat another Powerbar gel.

Mile 2. Ok these people have got to get out of my way. I can’t hold a decent pace with it crowded like this. Too much weaving in and out of the crowd.

Wave 5 starts! Ok lets do this! Gotta figure out how to get out of this crowd. Don’t start too fast. You’re starting too fast – SLOW DOWN!!

Ok bags are dropped off at the finish area. How am I going to get to the front of wave 1?? It looks packed. I may just have to start in the back and fight through the crowd when the race starts. My feet feel awesome right now. This is going to be a fun race. The offseason is almost here!