Marine Corps Marathon - RunMarathon

The first 5k was really slow due to congestion. I felt absolutely great and ready to go when the pack started thinning out on the 2nd 5k. I ran easily through the next 5k but noticed that my pace was smokin (for me, that is) and my HR was in the upper 170's - close to my lactate threshold at 181. Decided I would keep it out of the 180's to reserve some energy for later in the race. Felt really great all the way through the race seeing Gene at mile 9 and 19. Had to keep reeling myself back in on my pace due to my HR - which was harder than I thought it would be. I was 2-4 minutes ahead of all my splits and feeling pretty good. Feet were starting to hurt but nothing major. I hit Crystal City hoping not to crap out like last year. Didn't crap out, but I did start slowing down a bit. Then I noticed symptoms of low blood sugar. Uh oh - not good. Couldn't get the sports beans down fast enough and I struggled through to mile 23. Next thing I knew the 4:15 pace girl was passing me. I picked up my pace and stayed with her for the next mile to 24. My HR was 191 and I knew I had to give up that 4:15 goal. Darn it. Then it was a question of could I remain strong to the finish or totally lose it. I took two 1 minute walk breaks and got my HR down and finished up RUNNING to the finish. It took all I had to keep running those last 2 miles. I was really hurting at the finish line and cursing that hill! I was seriously hoping I wouldn't throw up on the Marine giving me my medal.

Crossing the bridge, I noticed that I wasn't getting the Sports Beans down that easily. I should've switched back to my GU which is easy to get down. Missing that shot of steady carbs that far into the race is why my blood sugar dropped so low. Otherwise, I couldn't be happier with how strong I was mentally and physically on this race.

Went through the corral and luckily got two goody bags full of food. As soon as I was through all the photo ops, I tore into that food. I walked around for over an hour trying to find Gene in our 'agreed on' meeting spot. Ended up just finding an open spot in the sunshine and just watched people passing by. A reporter for the newspaper interviewed me and took some pictures. Then Gio and Ana found me and Gene wasn't too far behind.


Lack of specific training at marathon pace for extended distances. Focus this summer/fall was for the HIM, not for PR'ing on the marathon. I'll do my training plan differently for my next mary. I've got a feeling I'm not going to be happy until I'm sub-4. :)


Overall, I'm really happy with the whole day's experience. MCM is such a great race for crowd support. I enjoyed the scenery and crowds alot more this year and had a solid performance.