Attempt #1 - Long Branch Marathon, NJ

I've run 4 marathons so far but never attempted to run one in under 3:10 (Boston qualifying time). My first marathon was probably the most memorable for me. I didn't train properly or have proper clothing but I was determination got me through. My older sister had run about 6 marathons at that point but was unable to break 4 hours (although she did run 4:00:21). Her boyfriend at the time, now husband, had also run a handful of marathons but never beat my sister. At some point during our trash talking with him he decided to make a bet with me. All I had to do to win the bet was run faster than my sister at the Long Branch Marathon in NJ. I began running in Newark, NJ with a friend who stopped running shortly after. I trained about 5 days a week through the streets in Newark (not recommended for many reasons) but rarely completed my long weekend runs. I used to cut short long runs for various reasons including weather, laziness, or just miscalculating the distance. Three quarters of the way through training my sister invited me to do a 17 mile run with her in Central Park. I jumped at the opportunity to run somewhere besides Newark despite the fact that my longest run was only about 12 miles at that point. We began our run on a sunny Sunday morning. She was perky the whole time as usual but after 10 miles I started hurting. Around 14 miles into the run without Body Glide, the inside of my thighs started to chafe. My legs hurt and my thighs burned. I was close to stopping but in doing so I would be admitting defeat and my ego wouldn't allow that. I finished the run but walked around like an 80 year old man for the next few days while all my friends made fun of me. My sister was fine.
When race day came I knew I was under prepared and nervous. Luckily the weather was beautiful and plenty of friends and family came to cheer me on. I started the race running with my sister and her boyfriend. We ran at a leisurely but comfortable pace for the first half. I felt great at the time and slowly pulled away from the two of them. Around mile 18 I started to get tired. I passed another runner, Tina, who was walking but she didn't look nearly as tired as I was. I gave her a few words of encouragement and she began running with me. We chatted for a few minutes about how we both wanted to break 4 hours then I slowly started pulling away from her as well. Near mile 20 it hit me, the dreaded wall. I started to walk. After jogging and walking for another 2 miles Tina caught up. She grabbed me and forced me to start running again. We decided to run the rest of the way but walk through water stations. This was fine with me, I got to rest for 30 seconds every mile or so and didn't have to worry about spilling water all over myself. Eventually we made it to the finish line in 3:54, and most importantly in front of my sister. My girlfriend ran over to congratulate me at the finish and told me she was inspired to run a marathon herself. Sitting there in the most pain I've ever been in, I simply looked her straight in the eye and said "Don't! This was the worst idea of my life."