Last 19ish Miles of Marathon

It was colder this morning than expected at 28 degrees F so I put on long-johns and tights at home. The group took off at about 6:30 AM. During the first 2-3 miles my ankle was tight again. Ugh! People would pass me especially some of my running classmates. I just couldn’t run any faster. I was struggling. This tightness really messes with my mind. I was thinking about quiting the class and skipping the marathon, but I kept going. At the first water stop I was just beginning to feel a bit better. My ankle was loosening up. I didn’t stop, because I wanted to pass my running mates. However, shortly they came blasting by me and still I couldn’t keep up with them and they went ahead. However, I kept them in sight this time. Finally around Northcross Mall one stopped for a bio-break, and I passed the other two. I kept going now with my ankle not bothering me. Taking the turn to head south I stopped for water at Arroyo Seco, and the two of them caught up to me, but I started out early and it was the last time I saw them. I won’t say it was an easy run, but I just kept digging deeper and getting it done. I ran and ran and ran. Down Duval, through Campus, up MLK, around the Capital, and down Congress. I thought about walking after where the marathon finish line would be, but I kept going. I kept running. I completed 19.6736 miles (based on Gmaps Pedometer) in 3:10.13 or 9:08/mile. What especially surprised me was my final pace is the speed I need to run the entire marathon in 6 weeks. Now if I can only figure out this tightness.