BQ or PR in the cold and rain? I'll take PR Alex for 51min

When you beat the alarm getting up you know it's going to be a good day or you're just brimming with excitement that you can't sleep.  The thought of oversleeping for Hartford crossed my mind more than once this week; that seedling thought grew into a full feature dream staring me on location in Brooklyn at the scene of a door ding that resulted in me missing the start of the race.  I woke up distraught at the thought of not getting my "bling blau" thanks to the running gods it was only a dream.

Shot out to all the volunteers spectators and vendors who braved the elements with us... 

I made sure I rested the days leading up to the race because, I usually toss turn and empty my balder several times during the night making it had to get uninterrupted blocks of sleep.  

Beating the alarm gave me the cushioned time to get dressed eat breakfast and catch a glimpse of Spirit of the Marathon 2 for inspiration before heading to Hartford.

About to hit the road... Let me grab my jacket for the rain...

The rainy chilly weather called for a quick wardrobe change.  I was hoping the forecast was off, but the weather man got it right this time.  I planned on just wearing a singlet shorts and sneakers of course.  But, added a jacket at the last minute to stay warm.

My Buddy Adam is planning on running all 169 Towns in CT

Karthrine Switzer passed on some sage counsel at the end of our chance encounter at the Hartford Expo "Start out slow finish Strong and fast"; that's sound advice and I planned on incorporating it into my race day strategy.  Between the rain cold and crowd I think most people started slower than normal-even if it wasn't part of their initial plan.

After spending over 4hrs in the rain I just wanted to change and warm up in the car!!!

By the time the crowd thinned out I was already 3min behind according to my pace band; which isn't a huge deficit to overcome under normal conditions-today wasn't normal.

These Puppies took me the distance helping me shave 51min off last years time

My plan was to use Hartford to BQ, with the rain, cold and #MCM on the horizon I made the decision to go for an easy PR and push back my BQ quest till later this month at the Marine Corps Marathon.

I do for the love and oh yeah the Bling Bling....

At the half mark according to my watch I checked in at 01:43:15 the official time was 01:47:44 and I still felt good.  But, decided it would be better to comfortable finish the race and get a PR than risk injury in the rain/cold pursuing a BQ.  Am I "bumbed out" about not getting 3:25? A tinsy winsy bit, but it was a conscious decision to easy off the gas.

Its back to the BQ drawing board 

So when Alex posed the question BQ or PR? I said I'll take PR for 51min Alex.  It has been an amazing journey during which I've received tremendous support from family friends and acquaintances around the world.

Back stage with Alex he asked me why did I set out to BQ there no "Trophies" involved?  And I said "I know there's no award for it but, I do it for me and as an example for my children to never give up on setting and actively pursuing your goals no matter how old you are".  If somewhere along the way my story inspires someone to set and pursue audacious goals then all of the training miles sweat pain and blogs would have been for a good cause. 

RunR4Lyfe