The training was definitely harder than the race.

The weather was absolutely perfect. A few windy sections, but I just drafted behind the big people. The Hanson adanced training was the right preparation. Race day plan was executed almost to perfection, both mentally and physically. Nutrition was spot on. The first 25 miles were a piece of cake. I thanked every volunteer and policeman I could get close to. I waved at all of the spectators and encouraged cheering. I was not sure if I would do another marathon, so I really decided to enjoy the heck out of this one!

I saw Carol at around mi 12 or 13. She really encouraged me and told me I was ahead of schedule, which at that point was true.

I ran all of the first 25 miles except for two times when I stopped at the water station to refill my amphipod. I did start to run slower at about mile 19 than I had planned. It didn't feel slower, but the Garmin said it was.

At mile 26, I began to feel like I was done. It became harder and harder to keep going. I thought of my Ironman friends and pushed on, walking when I felt it absolutely necessary. I remembered that my training was specifically done under the "cumulative fatigue" theory and that the last 1.2 miles would bring back that training feeling. I really struggled for the last 1/2 mile. Lots of people running by encouraged me. I thought about all those people that I had sent tracking info too and I knew they were keeping track. When I had .2 mile to go, I looked at a guy running near me and said "I have two minutes to qualify for Boston and I need you to lead me across the finish line". He was absolutely awesome. He kept telling me to relax, that I had this. I gave him a big hug at the end. After I got my individual race photo taken, I insisted we get one together.

Had some slight pain in the left knee towards the end. Not normal for me. I decided it must be from running on the right side of the road more than usual. Although, every time I thought about it, I moved to the crown of the road.

Stiff and a little achy in the legs at the finish. Ice bath that night took care of it.

Nutrition on the course:

Clif Shot Citrus Gel at mi 4.5
Honey Stinger Gel at mi 10
Tri-berry GU Gel at mi 18
Dates and tootsie rolls in between
1/6 of a banana at water stop
1/4 orange at another water stop

IPOD Shuffle Music:
Songs from Rocky
Songs from Flashdance
Songs from Top Gun
Def Leppard
Beach Boys
The Who
Nightwish
Steven Curtis Chapman

I really don't think there is anything to do differently.

I just kept walking. Through the chute, over to the food area. They had lots of bars, yogurt, oranges. I had some chocolate blue bell ice cream ;-).


Age, experience, training? I trained my butt off for this race. I am ecstatic at the way everything fell into place. I'm not sure at this age that I could really go much faster at that distance. Next time I'll do more hill training because my next marathon will be a little hillier.


I don't really have any other marathons to compare this to. I thought everything went very smoothly, including packet pickup. I like that this was not a huge race. Spectators were very supportive and entertainment along the course was pretty cool!

I never could find the recovery drinks at the end, like Core Power, Muscle Milk, etc. Someone said there was chocolate milk, but I missed it.

Finisher shirt is beautiful, red and long-sleeved.