So...off we wait. I felt good the first 10 mile. We ran & walked. Everything was good. I kind of started thinking that I could finish in 5:30. But it's a long 26.2 miles and anything could happen and it did. At mile 8, my stomach wasn't agreeing with the gel I had taken and I needed to use the bathroom. At mile 9 went to use the bathroom and when I came out the pace team was gone. No problem, I still felt good and I felt comfortable that I could catch up with the pace team. The next 4 miles my goal was to catch up with team. I was pushing my pace to hard and was doing the run & walk. After a mile I could see the pace team (I may have been 30 second behind). At mile 12 my stomach started to act up again. It was a long potty break...I was to the half way mark and about 2 minutes behind the pace team. The next two miles just took everything out of me and it started to heat up pretty fast. By mile 16 it was pretty much a walk. I start to cramp up in my left calf. The next aid station I had some bengay applied on both calves and that help out. Than the next station I had bengay applied on my quads. At mile 22 I call my wife to let her know where I was at and how much longer it was going to take me. I tried to run/walk the last 4 miles, but its was mostly walking and more like a death march. As I made the last turn the crowd was still going crazy. They all cheered me in, so I had to at least push myself to finish with a jog & a smile.

Train more. Here is the excuse. I entered myself for this marathon back in April & had hoped to break 5 hours, but at the same time I started to enjoy my first full season doing triathlons and trained alot more in the swim & bike instead of the run. I had only done two long runs to train this season a 13 mile & 16 mile all about a month ago. I bearly made the 16 miler. I was thinking that with all the swimming & biking I was doing that I could make it in the run with hardly any training. BIG MISTAKE. Respect the run!!

Got my finisher medal. It was a hot day & with my GI issues one would think I would be hungry for solid food but I wasn't. I went for ice cream (popsicle) & a couple of cups of ice cold coke. The ice cold coke was like the fountain of youth, at least the first couple of cups were(I think I had 5 or 6). I met up with my wife in the runner area and she wanted me to take a picture with the finisher background but I was pretty much done and wanted to get home.


Lack of training & hot weather


This is a great race. Runners magazie rated it as the best well orgazined race in the nation and it is. I'm glad its in my city and I'm guranteed to be in every year(its a lottery for everyone else). Though next year I plan to take it off as I want to train more for triathlon races!!