This was my goal, first to finish, second, possibly a Boston Qualifier, and third, run fast too, in that order. Well the first two happened:-) but the running fast part was through at around 7 miles, then somewhere after a pit stop that I had to make and mile 11 the wheels just totally came off and I knew at that point that it was going to be a long day. This year the Austin Marathon is on a new loop course and is and very hilly in the early miles, then a combo of rolling downhills the last 9 or so. I just died out there Sunday and to make matters worse the weather was absolutely perfect, I have no excuses and no one else to blame but myself for the way things were about to unfold.   I started with the 3 hour pace group mostly because I know that I can run that pace for a very long time without much effort, ha! or so I had hoped. We took off and went up a long set of hills for about two miles and already I was struggling just to keep up with the group. my legs were feeling some deep fatigue and the only thing that I can think of that would have caused this was last weekends set of long hard runs and then busting out a one and a half hour weight session on Wednesday (my day off from running) At that point I really didn't have any plans of running the marathon, but as the week progressed and with all the excitement in my running group and the fact that the weather was looking quite favorable I decided what the heck and signed up Saturday night at the expo, sure I have done plenty of mileage, ran Bandera, so why not? The other thing that way sucking me into all this was the fact that I had high hopes of meeting Henry Rono and Patti Smith (Cabalto) sp? and a few other legends that were going to be there but I didn't get to see them during the time that I was there, bummer! so I signed up and waited my adventure that was to take place Sunday morning.    Meanwhile back to the race... just before the top of the first set of hills that we were going up I got a little mad at myself and the way that I was feeling and decided throw all caution to the wind and see what I could do. I passed the group leaders just before the crest of the hill thinking that either I would run the funk out of my legs or I would come back to the group later and run with them at what by then might feel like an easier pace. At mile 5 I found myself well ahead of them and passing a lot of other runners. I was starting to get into a rhythm and able to hold the higher pace although the legs still didn't have the spring in them that they normally do. I think that I hit a mile somewhere in there at around 6:17 or so (at least according to the chat that I could hear going on behind me) I shrugged it off as a mis-read from someones Garmin or something and backed off the pace by just a hair, but not enough so that I would lose contact with the people in front me. At that point I think that I was a couple of minutes ahead of the 3:00 pacers. About mile 8 we headed into the hills and I was having to make a pit stop and knew that I wouldn't be holding it for the rest of the race. I saw a couple of porta Johns on my right and looked to see if the door handle was green, it was lucky me! so I ditched in there and took care of business (probably lost about a minute) I got back out on the course and found that I was still ahead of schedule but lost the people that I had been running with. Big hills! or so they seemed and lots of them. By mile 10 I was about 1:07 and change and thinking that with the "easier" part of the course coming up I should be able to duplicate it and be through 20M in 2:14, and then with a 39 or a 38 minute 10K to finish I could go 2:52-3 or if I had a really good run out on the last section go maybe a 2:49 or so, ahh but dreams do die hard sometimes. That is what I was hoping for but you know how those things can go. After 10 miles I quit looking a t my watch. By 11.5 the pacers caught me and I knew it because I could see a small sign that one of then was carrying off to my left in  the shadow that the morning sun was casting ( I didn't dare look back or at them because I knew...). I did my best to pick up the pace and see if I could get things rolling but for me it was not going to happen today. It was kind of like being in a break away and getting caught by the peleton in a bike race, so I just pulled over to let them pass so that I could grab some much needed water, I had missed several water stops along the way and wasn't going to miss any more. Time to reassess my self and make my next plan. Oddly enough though I hit the halfway in close to 1:30 which was a surprise to me. I had popped a couple of advil just to take the edge off just before 13 and it seemed to be working...well, a little I say. From then on I was just running mile by mile and by the time I hit 16 (my planned breakaway point) I found myself just holding on. The HCTR had an aid/cheering station set up there and Gabe offered me a Redbull, I thought about it and decided that it was too much of a risk to take with how I was feeling and besides if I wasn't careful I just might end up in the restroom again, or behind a car, something that just wouldn't be good. I kept rolling a long and by 18 was picking up the pace just a hair. Someone mentioned that the 3 hour pace guys were just up ahead. Some hope at last and I tried to find that other gear but it today at this stage it was not to be found. I kept plugging a long till mile 20 and Trevor jumped in. I was great to see him and finally have some company (I was mostly alone at this point) I told him to ditch the sweats that he was wearing and run with me the rest of the way in but he couldn't because he was waiting for someone else there. Boy it sure would have been nice to have him to pace me in! We said our good-byes and I just kept rolling along. I took a couple of more Advil but it was just a waste of time at that point and not helping any. I was just going to have to man-up and deal with the pain.  Mile 22 is usually another point that I get strong in the marathon for some reason but this time is wasn't to happen. On the flip side of things they were handing out double caffeine packets of Cliff Shot, so I grabbed one with the plan to take it at about mile 24...that stuff was down right nasty! I was hoping not to suffer a bad reaction or something.  Somewhere between 23 and 24 I hit my worst patch of the race and was just ambling along by the UT campus. (can you say 12 minute miles?) at least that is what it felt like I was doing. I kept telling myself that when I was done that I didn't have to do another loop. This part was the only desert in the entire race, no other runners around, no crowd support, nada and I felt like crapola, ahead of me was another short but seemingly steep down hill, my quads were trashed and I just gingerly went down the hill only to have to go up a longer hill. Another runner caught me on the down and I passed him on the up as he was walking. I tried to encourage him on and while doing so found a new strength going up the hill, not fast by any means but moving on along well. I made a sharp left onto another hill up towards the capitol. a car came on to the course at this point and though I just kept going and I thought that it was kind of odd. The crowd went nuts, both cheering me on and cussing the car behind me going the other way. Rounding the Capitol I tried to pick up the pace knowing that I had somewhere around a mile or so to go, my calf cramped ever so slightly and I eased of and shifted my stride by just a hair. As I moved down toward  the front of the Capitol building and onto Congress I could  see the finish way down in the distance and begin my final run out while focusing on that. I had no sooner had I began then I could hear fast foot steps lurking behind me, maybe about 100 yds back or so and then the announcer yelled out and said the we have a race here! I thought "oh great, thats just what I need today" No one in front of me as far as the eye can see all the way to the finish but some clown behind me trying to do this. (they must of had field glasses from the finish to see all this going on because we were still quite a ways out) I kept going and was not about to sprint or challenge him but in the process found my other ge ar and just started a long surge that would last about a half mile. The foot steps disappeared and I was relieved but continued my acceleration all the way through the finish line. probably making up an additional 30 sec off my final time just in that small stretch. Finally DONE! glad to be done!!! :-) Actually I didn't feel all that bad after I had gone through the finish but the hilly course did take its toll on this runner that still after Bandera was ill prepared to run the hills.