Still sick but manageable... I decided last night that I was going to take it nice and slow. So, I ran 5 miles from home to the start line at the Pentagon, met up with my buddy Mike from work to give him his bib, then we went to try and find a bathroom... they had like thousands of porta potties but there was so many people, the lines were still huge. We find one that had a pretty short line. Then we headed to the start line, he had a green bib because he totally made up his expected finish time when he registered. I really wish people in races lined up by their true pace, it'd make the world a much better place. We started with the first wave, it was so crowded... His goal (or my goal that I imposed him) was to do 10 min miles all the way, so we ran together the whole way. Mike is one of those guys who can get lazy, but if you push him a little he responds. He did really good - when we ran the cherry blossom 5k this spring he almost passed out after trying to do 10-min miles, this time he was so much better! He's doing his first marathon at Marine Corps, and I've been helping him out with tips. I think we met our goal but I haven't seen the official results yet.
After the race I saw some friends and chatted a bit, then I ran home - I was able to pick up the pace to 9 min miles for the last 5 miles, so that was good. Now to study away! | 