This was my first marathon and I just wanted to finish it. I hoped to finish in less than 5 hours if everything went right. I followed Hal Higdon's Novice 1 plan and stuck to it pretty well for the whole plan.

NUTRITION
I drank Gatorade and Water as needed at the aid stations and drank from my bottle of Skratch Labs electrolyte solution before getting thirsty. My breakfast didn't seem to be digesting well. I felt the bagel in my stomach and could still taste it till about mile 8 or 9. I never felt ill or crampie, just felt full. That feeling cleared up and then I had a GU-Roctane at miles 12 and 18. I feel like this was all good for the day. I don't think my nutrition needed much changing.

PACING/ACTUAL RUN
I started out nice and easy. (partly to keep my pace down, partly because I was 6 miles in before sunrise and I couldn't see the road well) I kept my pace comfortable between a 10:30 and 11:00 min mile - never going too hard. I felt like I could keep that pace for a long time. Just as in training I took a 45-60 sec walk break at every even mile marker. (pretty close to the aid stations)

At the half marathon mark, I was still on pace to finish in under 5 hours. I was at 2:23 and feeling good. by now the sun was out and it was warming up fast. I started taking my walk breaks every mile instead of every 2 miles) The turnaround was at mile 16.2 (so exactly 10 miles left) and I was at 3 hours even. I still felt I could finish in under 5 hours. I had 2 hours left to get in 10 miles. That was right on target with my current pace. Even giving me a little bit of a fudge factor. I was still feeling good here.

Got 2 more miles in and the heat was really starting to take its toll on me. I was still drinking the right amount and adding ice at the aid stations. I was pouring water down my back. At the mile 20 aid station, I filled up the hat with ice and put it on my head. Ohhh, did that feel good! But, I was super tired now and taking many more walk breaks. I was down to about a 2 min jog, 1 min walk. I lost a lot of time from miles 18-20.

"They" say the second half of the marathon starts at mile 20. Well, I now understand that! Every step after that 20 mile marker was the longest I had ever run. (20 miles was my longest training run) My head was still in the game. I wanted to do well. I really thought I could do it. But I realized my 5 hour goal was probably shot. With 10K left to go, I only had 70 minutes left to do it. I can easily run a 10K in that time. But not now, feeling like I did after the first 20 miles - hot, tired, worn out. My heart and lungs felt great. The problem was just my legs. They wouldn't do what my head asked them to do. The legs were just worn out. I continued to slog along, calculating how fast I would have to do the next x.x miles to finish in under 5 hours and every mile the goal got further and further away. I walked almost the entire mile from 22-23. Then, I saw a bridge ahead and decided I could jog to the end of the bridge then take another walk break. I made it about halfway there (45 seconds) and when I started walking again, thought I would collapse. My legs had turned to jelly and I almost fell down. I slowed down even more and just kept walking.

Got to the mile 24 aid station (it was at 24.25 - really disheartening to be that far past where I expected it ;-) ) and just stopped to refill everything. They really knew their stuff at that station. One woman said, "Take off your hat so I can fill it with ice." Another made me drink water and they filled my bottle with lots of ice and Gatorade. They reminded me there's only 2 miles left and sent me on my way. (As I think about it now, I guess I looked pretty bad - the way they took such good care of me.)

The ice and water and helped cool me off and I felt a little better, but the legs still didn't want to go. I could walk for 4-5 minutes, then try another "run" and get maybe 30 seconds. So I just kept walking. Eventually I made it to the park with the finish line! As soon as I turned off the road I saw a long line of cones snaking back towards the road away from the finish. They had to add about 250 yards inside the park to make the final distance. I didn't want to see that. I walked through most of it and could finally see the finishers chute!!! I got my last wind up and jogged through the entire chute to make sure and look good for the race camera at the end! WHEW! Done.

The only thing I would change is my preparation for the race. I think I would build a better base and have more consistent weekly mileage. The Higdon plan did exactly what it is supposed to do. It got me through my first marathon. Now, I want to do better for the next one. Still gotta break that 5 hours.

Walked around got my finisher's shirt and pint glass! Got some fruit, water, and Gatorade. Waited for my wife to finish. After she crossed the line, I showed here where all the after race goodies were, and we sat down (nest to the Race Director) and had our Hawaiian "Plate Lunch" provided by a local grinds restaurant. Then we went out and sat in the ocean for about 10 minutes before rinsing off and heading back to the rental house!


This was the third (i think) year of this race and it was fantastic. Very well organized! The RD has listened to racers from the past years and made changes to make the race better! I might like to see a few more aid stations since it can get so hot, but they weren't needed as i just carried a bottle with me like I had in all my training. (And I had fluids whenever I wanted them this way)