Pocatello Marathon

It was much warmer than I expected at the start of the Pocatello Marathon. This was a bit of a concern, since I run much better in colder weather. But I had trained hard all summer for this and was excited to get going down the big hill. 1500 feet of "down" in the first 15 miles. Woohoo! I had practiced running downhill a lot in the previous weeks. My strategy was to run the first half of the marathon as hard as I could and then try to hold on at a respectable pace over the last half that included rolling hills and no net elevation change. Unfortunately, no friends were running it with me this time. But Supy demonstrated how great of a friend he is by coming down to support me. He stayed with me at the hotel and then ran the last 4 or 5 miles with me--a stretch that definitely was a challenge for me. I used the Brooks Green Silence for the first time in a full marathon. I'm not sure if this was a good idea or not. They felt light and fast. But my feet were killing me by the end. And I had a huge blood blister on my left foot. All in all, it was a great experience and a solid performance for me. I ran the first half in a fast 1:40 time and ended in 3:45. Still 25 minutes too slow for a Boston qualifier. But it was 10 min faster than my previous best. So, I know I am getting better and will continue to improve.