Final race of 2014

As I did in the past, I ran a marathon today (23 Dec) as the final race of the year. I have not worked out so hard these months, and I ran only 9 times, a total of 150 km in the previous 30 days. The top of my left foot is still swelling up, though I feel little pain there.

This time, I did nothing special for the race. No weight reduction, no long time carbo-loading, and no special diet, either. I had a little more rice than usual yesterday, but that's all. I was relaxing just before the race, because I had no thought to push myself hard.

However, something in my own mind made me change the policy just after I heard the starting pistol. It said, "Run as hard as possible! No pain, no gain!" I felt very exhausted from the beginning, but I kept running. The pace was rather slower than previous races, but I ran hard. When I finally reached a point around 40 km distance, I suddenly felt I was totally refreshed and restored. Then, I decided to try to be a homestretch runner and put out a last spurt. I was surprised to find I could use all my strength that was left. The final pace was 4m20-30s/km, which was not too bad. It was a fantastic race that I made the most. 

My result: 3h32m16s (net)