In an oxygen-deprived state

(For some reason, blogspot won't let me have line breaks in my poem, so the slashes will have to serve as breaks) In an oxygen-deprived state/The pace of the tempo is accelerating/As time speeds on, the legs stride onward/Faster faster/Picking up when all else says slow down/The pace has gotten quicker/Adjusting to the new cadence/And in those final minutes/It is literally an uphill battle/Climbing 150 feet within half a mile/Higher and higher, steeper and speedier/The oxygen is quickly pulled away/The brain is foggy/Yet simultaneously clear/Climbing, arms pumping/Leaving the base/Seeing the summit in full view/Renews my spirit/Digging deeper, pushing harder/I have reached the top!/Time to descend once again/Legs fall rapidly in mindless bliss/I have conquered the tempo/I have beaten the hill/Reached the peak/The view from above is a wondrous one. (The end) Averaged 7:19 pace for 5.65 miles in today's tempo run! The last section was tough, and actually will be tougher than Boston, at least in terms of speed. Won't be climbing Heartbreak Hill at 7:19 pace! The run in total was 10.6 miles - pretty good for the taper. I will say, things were very interesting in my brain during that final part - pretty much just single word thoughts at that point. And then once it was over and the pace slowed, reason returned!