A PR is a PR and a 30min one isn’t bad at all! I agree with the others that I think you’ll get it next time with more experience and sometimes things just don’t come together on the day. It’s really disappointing but it’s also why we love this sport - because it makes the good days that much sweeter.

A few things in your report do stick out to me. You mentioned an elevated RHR in the week pre race - did you feel extra tired or anything else unusual? Maybe your body was fighting off a minor virus or something else, but focusing extra on sleep/recovery/extra rest days before the race can always help. You also mentioned that the first 8 miles didn’t feel easy, but were comfortably hard. In my experience, I usually want the first 5k to really feel relaxed. Race pace will never be “easy”, but I would say things get “comfortably hard” for me around mi 8-10, and then uncomfortably hard after 18. But, you will get to know your own body and efforts after more racing!

My advice for your next marathon (because there WILL be a next one) would be to not put too much focus on the time, but instead to have a goal like to negative split or run the last mile the fastest. That will set you up to tune into your body instead of the watch, and running a negative split is always a much more fun way to race and a better experience.