And thus my 2007 season has come to a close!
Well, that was a weird one. The weather turned out to be a non-factor. Late in the race, the breeze went away for a moment and I could feel the heat, but other than that, it was a great day to run. I should be an ad exec for the race: "PF Chang's Rock'n'Roll Marathon -- Now 50% Warmer!!" lol There's a time/temp sign at around 3mi. A year ago, it read 30degrees as I ran past. Yesterday, 46. Another sign at around 8mi read 48degrees, it was also 30 a year ago. lol The weird part came in how I ran the race.
First off, I set a freakin' PR for the Half!

I had re-set my watch so that the pace alarm would go off if I went below 9:00 (normally was set for 8:30). So, I was running fairly consistent 9:0x-9:15ish miles. I crossed the timer at 13.1 in 2:01:48, a PR by about 30seconds. I was in the zone, running comfortably, it didn't feel like I was running too fast. I suppose due to being in the zone, the miles seemed to fly past. In last year's races, sometimes it seemed like "oh man, where is that next mile marker!!", but yesterday, it was "wow, I ran another mile already?!".
My celebration was short-lived. It was all down the tubes from then on. I had an energy crash after 14, and then got somewhat sick to my stomach. It was weird, it was almost like I was clenching my stomach muscles. It felt like I had a full stomach as well, so I laid off the water/Accelerade over the last 5-6(more?) miles. If I didn't know better, one might think I was on my period, but that couldn't be...

I still managed to get to mile 20 in 3:16, which was just 2mins slower than my 20mi run a few weeks ago. Alas, my energy continued to slip away, and I pretty much walked most of the final 1/2mile as my Marathon PR slipped away as well.
I finished in 4:32:29 (3mins off PR), barely able to muster a jog to the finish. On top of that, my inner thighs started spasming in the final 30yds, doing some sort of sadistic "Oh we're gonna cramp and it'll hurt SOOOOO BAD!!!! We might even make you fall down 10ft short of the finish line!!!

" dance. Then of course, in the post-finish area, they had all kinds of food for the runners -- green bananas, dry cookies and crackers. Ick.

Oh wait, popsicles!!

That should do the trick to get something into me. That went down ok, but then I took a swig of Accelerade and nearly puked. It was the same flavor as on the course, Peach Mango. While I can handle it under normal circumstances, I feel it's too sticky/syrupy to use in a race. So, that might have been the source of my stomach problems. I snagged a Gatorade at the TNT tent, and that went down better. After I got home and stretched out on the floor, things started going back to normal (blood is directed away from your innards and to your legs during these long runs, if you didn't know), and the way things were gurgling, it was as if my breakfast, water, Accelerade, and gels were all clogged in my small intestine, and were finally allowed to move on. It still took me a few more hours before I had the desire to eat (Dole Fruit and Yogurt cups to start, another finish area handout, yummy!). After that stayed down, I had a regular dinner of some spaghetti.
All in all, an ok race. I'm disappointed in my finish, but I'm thrilled over the Half PR. I almost was able to PR in both the Half and Full, and still had the Full PR in reach at mile 25. All I needed to do was post an ~11:00 over the final 1.2mi, but it wasn't to be this day. One of these days, I'll put two of those Halfs together, and have an AMAZING Marathon. As with the weather, my pre-race concerns over my groin/hip flexor/whatever proved to be a non-factor. In fact, everything BUT that muscle was bothering me. lol It was as if the run loosened it up. My left calf was all knotted up, and threatened to cramp at any moment. The toes of my right foot threatened to cramp as well (they've been doing that in the last several runs). My right foot as a whole hurt, probably due to running on year-old orthotics (ie, the padding is compressed). I have a new set waiting for me, but didn't order them soon enough to break in prior to race day. Today, my thighs are achey and my calf is still knotted, but otherwise no worse for wear.
As for the future, San Antonio in November, and Goofy's Challenge in January are the "for sure"s. I'd still like to run another in June, but that'll depend on our moving plans. For now, I'm taking my usual post-race month off, if not longer, and then we'll get it back in gear.