It's the perfect day. Temperature lies right at a calm and slightly cloudy 48. The rain has stopped for the morning. After spending the last 10 days sick, I finally feel excellent.

Okay, 7:10 am...warmup time. I round up my friends, Nick and Curtis, and we go get our pedestrian 10-15 minute trot to get the blood pumping. Upon assessment of my hydration and fueling systems, all is well.

Back into the hotel now at 7:25, I need to get the trusty Ronins laced up, jersey on, and get to the start line on time. One final trip to the bathroom leaves me feeling ready. It's time to take on the best! All the prep work is done, I just need to do what I've trained my body to do...easier said than done when the duration is going to exceed the 2 hour mark running the engine at full-throttle.

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...HOOOOONNNNNNKKKKKK! We're off! Wait, no, I guess just Tyler and I are off. Nobody else seems interested in racing yet. There are a lot of people assessing where everyone ELSE is and what everyone ELSE is doing. Run your own race. The distance is the same as last time; the effort is just as hard; the competition is closer to my level than all of my previous marathons, mostly being World Marathon Majors.

One mile: 5:02. That's well within reason and there's no reason that it's a two man lead pack. Everyone else is going to conserve, but for how long? I'm going to mesh into the pack when they come forward. Okay, 5:18. I may have eased back too hard.

The miles are passing fast! We're running fast! Was that a 31:20 first 10k? Yea, it was. It felt like we were walking! Why isn't anyone going by Tyler and me. We seem to be sharing the work of 15 guys right now between 2 of us. I'm feeling surprisingly aggressive though, so if they want a leader, they'll have to earn hanging with me. Here's a couple 5:03s. How is everyone doing? I feel easy still at 51:17 through 10 miles.

Hmm, I'm getting a little tightness in my right calf and left hamstring. It's obviously not stopping me from running a quick pace. Man, Tyler is just being a horse! I just wish someone else would come take the lead from us. He's up 2 steps on the pace and I'm carrying the pack on my shoulders. Forget it! I'm feeling fine. Don't think negatives, only positives. It's too early for any negativity to come from my own mind.

Yikes that's hot, 67 flat through half! I've been faster though. I can handle this. JB is making a move, do I cover it? Nah, but I'll help string out the pack. Woah, 15:30 for the last 5k? Are you serious? We're rocking! I'm unstoppable today! I can't say I've ever felt this fresh in a marathon at 16 miles. This hamstring is nagging me hard though. All systems are still going though. Fluids are going in; legs are pumping, last mile was a 5:06 and we're all a pack again. JB came back to us. I wonder if he's hurting.

Woah! What's this all about?!? My hamstring is twitching? Really? Ugh, 5:19 on the last mile. That makes it 18 miles in 1:32:04. I'm fine. The pace is going to settle back.

NOOOO! I can't move. Am I really on my knees? Have I gotten to the 19 mile yet? NO! This isn't happening. Don't panic. The cramp will go away. Crap! It's locked up. I have to stop. Don't stop. Keep going. One mile at a time. That's gotten me through some rough stuff before. Just a mile. One mile. No, I have to stop again. I can't move my left leg. What's going on? This has never happened before.

Was that a 6:08? It had to be. I stopped three times, one falling to a knee when my leg couldn't support me. Am I going to make it to the finish line? One mile...one mile.

The last 8 miles of the Twin Cities Marathon ended up the slowest I've ever covered the distance in a race. From the looks of it, being sick in the week before had depleted my electrolytes. I was conscious of staying hydrated, but the sore throat I had kept me on a water-only intake for fluids. I was able to compete for the first 18 miles on whatever my muscles could scrounge up. At that point I simply ran out of proper fuel.

In a way, I'm proud that I was able to piece together the miles one at a time. I was able to mix it up. There really was no replacement for that feeling of RACING a marathon. The 2:13 doesn't compare; top 10 in Chicago doesn't compare. There may be a feeling of unfinished business now, but I'm more motivated now than I have been in a year, maybe more. There's a fire burning for me to get started back up on my training right now like I haven't felt in a long time.

Although the result was a world away from any indication of my fitness, I'll live to fight another battle. I'll have to treat my hamstring now to some physical therapy before I'm ready to get too deep into running hard again. It's going to be a couple months before I attempt another race. For now, I have some plans on what might be next, but first and foremost I need to be training 100% before any decisions are made.

If you want more updates or have any questions for me, my twitter handle is runprizzo. I do my best to respond to people there.