Little Rock Marathon and future runs

After running the Post Oak events (10K trail on Saturday and 1/4 hilly marathon on Sunday) the weekend before, I was a little apprenhensive about how much I would have in the tank for Little Rock the following week. I did not run at all after Post Oak and felt rested for Little Rock. I wasn't running with my ususal running group since some of them did the full marathon at Post Oak but I had made arrangements to meet with some other runners that I run with during the week. We said we would "look for each other" at the start. I thought I was supposed to be in the open corral even though the 5 hour pace group was in the D corral. I don't know why I thought that except for the fact that I saw bibs with C or D and mine had no letter and rule follower that I am, I didn't want to be in the wrong place. Once the race started and I saw how s-l-o-w the pace was in my area, I realized that I had made a huge mistake and wished that I had lined up with the 5 hour pace group. I did manage to catch up with them around mile 4 and thought I'd see the group I was supposed to run with but they must have been further ahead. I managed to stay ahead of the 5 hour pace group until I hit the long hill at Kavanaugh and then they got ahead of me. I let myself get really discouraged on this hill and mentally checked out and could not wait to finish this marathon but I took it really slow, lots of alternate walking and running.
The marathon overall is well-supportedby spectators, nice expo and an ok course. I don't think it is very scenic but a nice variety of rolling hills, two good sized hills (at the middle and at the end) and relatively flat from 20 until that hill at the end. The weather for me was perfect, mid 30s at the start and high 40s at the finish. I enjoyed seeing one of my friends achieve a PR and the medal is what LR is famous for. I also enjoyed meeting Angie who has a podcast "Marathon Training Academy." This was my first run as a Marathon Maniac and I enjoyed greeting other maniacs and talking about our marathon experiences. I did not feel like a maniac on this day though! We plan to do it again next year for the 10th anniversary of the run and plan to run as a group.
I didn't run again until Thursday of this week and still felt sluggish but when I ran on Saturday, I felt like a new woman, did 8 miles and felt really good. Saturday was a picture perfect day and I felt so good to finally have a good run. Then we had a really good time getting together at IHOP and hearing about some other marathons and running stories.
I am going to take it easy for awhile, Little Rock was an endurance event for me, did not enjoy it at all, I am really tired for some reason. I love running too much to let this get the best of me. My next races will be short ones, Wish Lemons 5K, McMurtry 25K trail run, Run for the 10, OK Memorial Marathon as part of a relay, Jenks Aquarium Half Marathon, El Scorcho 25K trail in July and the Marine Corps Marathon in October.