Goal #1: Finish, #2: Finish without further injuring achilles, #3: Run the entire distance without further injuring achilles #4: A personal best time (<2:29:00) without injury.

Other than having to walk up 2 small hills as my achilles felt too tight to deal with them, I accomplished all of my goals!

Train more, or train less? Hard to say because I've had a painful achilles tendon so training less may have let it heal more thoroughly, but training more may have prevented it from acting up in the first place.

I would have pushed alot harder prior to 17th Street. There we suddenly only had half the street and I got boxed in with people running 11:30 paces (about what I had been running up until that point) and my joints had just gotten loosened up so I wanted to go faster, but couldn't.

I would have picked somebody other than Elvis to pace behind, then beat. I usually pick someone--usually in wings, feathers, etc.--that I absolutely MUST beat. Today it was Elvis. I think I passed him at a water station, then didn't focus on anyone else.

Walking through lines to get food, down stairs, etc. I sat and iced my achilles while I ate and did some stretching.


Achilles--not only did I have to walk up the hills mentioned above, but it kept me from training as much as I should have as well.


It seemed like people were waiting in huge lines for the end porta potties before the race, when the central ones had only 2-3 people waiting. I mentioned this to a few people waiting in the long lines, but they just kept waiting in the long lines, so I gave up. I think if a volunteer, or anyone more official than myself, could have let them know they didn't have to stand in those lines, everyone could have gotten through more quickly.

Getting into the start corral was a problem also...there were very few openings and people everywhere...spectators and racers. I tried to go over the gate, like some skinnier girls ahead of me had, but the gate didn't quite seem sturdy enough for me to climb over:) There was basically nowhere to go until the race started. I crossed the start line about 5 minutes after the actual start.

Overall a fun race and I would do it again.