Quad Cities Marathon

Race Day. The morning was cold and I got to the race perfectly on time.  Decided to stay with the 3:30 pacer. He went kind of slow the first mile –his plan, but later he was speeding up.  There were a couple of hills on the first two miles, so it was a very smart decision. These first miles were sub 8:00. Later, he kept the 8:00 MM. Things were going just fine. The route seemed endless, as usual. But it was when I finished mile 17, when I started having pains I had not ever had before.  I had this pain by the right front of my hip.  The pain was so bad, I knew I had to stop running. Also, cramps started bothering in my calves, and I just had to walk.  After a few seconds, I just tried running again. I knew jogging slow was better than walking, so I kept going. I reached mile 20. The last six miles were the longest miles I have ever run. Painful. I put everything I had in the last 1.5 miles. Not enough to PR. 
Garmin connect: LINK

Lesson to be learned: I need to work on my ENDURANCE.  Long runs at slow pace.  Finishing in 3:30 looks so far away. The last ten miles...  I need to work on my last ten miles! Hopefully, I can run the Marion Marathon in April next year.