Race started about 10min late. I lined up in the 2hr 15min pace group so we were way far back. We heard the gun (or noise - so far back we couldn't tell exactly what it was!) go off and saw people in the front take off running. It feels weird to know the race is starting but you are not even moving because of so many people in front of you. Slowly the pack started walking forward and it took us 12min to get up to the start line and finally begin running.

There were so many people that finding a pace at the beginning was really tough. It was very annoying that so many people don't care and just line up where ever b/c there were people walking right out of the gate (I don't mind the walkers, I just wish they would line up towards the back). It made it tough for a lot of people as we were having to dodge in and around all the runners and slower people. I think the first mile marker was a little off b/c when my wife and I got there it was showing 13min. I knew we were not going that slow, but my wife freaked out and sped up a lot. She is small and can dart in between people that I just can't fit between! I ended up losing her before mile 2. I never saw her again until the finish. So...I ended up running this alone, but it was nice and I really got into a good groove. I spent the run just in my own zone and just thought about a lot of different things and really battled myself mentally towards the end, but I'll get to that.

Anyway, come mile marker 2 I was back at normal time (22min). At this point, I decided to stay at this pace (11min/mi) b/c I wanted to make sure I could finish. The weather was nice...cool, but not cold. I wore just the right apparel. They had water stops at every mile and had like 40 some odd local bands playing along the entire route. The entire route (and I mean the entire route) was lined with people. It was amazing and really helped you stay motivated.

The water stops were a pain at first until I figured out a way to deal with the idiots (I mean fellow runners) :). I was running on the right side of the road to begin with (since I was slower I thought I would stay to the right, right?) but come the first water stop I was about bowled over several times. The water stops were on the right side of the road and there was a mad dash by people to get to the water. So as I was running straight, a lot of people were darting all the way across the road from the left. Needless to say it was a big mess and after doing this the first 2 stops I finally learned to run on the far left to avoid any major collisions. I also realized the water stops were very long, so once I started getting water (at mile 4) I would stay to the left then dart to the right at the very last possible moment and grab a water from end of the water line), and this kept me out of danger.

So, I continued to chug along and decided that starting after mile 8 I would begin to speed up. My first 8 miles I avg'd around a 10:55 pace. I felt good so I did mile 9 at 10:39, mile 10 at 10:05, mile 11 at 9:06, mile 12 at 9:10, and mile 13 at 9:31, and then another 51sec for the last 1/10mi.

My feet were burning, but I ended up with ZERO blisters!!! If anyone needs any sock recommendations then let me know, the new socks have been great. Around 2mi left, I started to get some stomach cramps but fought through it. Around 1mi left I could feel my calves tightening up. This really scared me b/c I was afraid of what would happen if they fully cramped up. But I kept moving and they never did. We had the biggest hill of the course at mile 12, but I just lowered my head and chugged up it. I finished the run without stopping the entire time and finished within 2min of the pace I was trying to keep. Doing the 11min pace early slowed me down but I think I made up for it the last few miles by running near a 9min pace. I only counted about 2-3 people that passed me in the last 5k of the race and I was passing a lot of people. That actually also helped me stay motivated.

I did have one close call, and ended up with a big cut in my left arm. It was around mile 11 and I was running my 9min pace and passing a lot of people. Well, there were still a lot of people walking and they were spread out all across the road forming these human road blocks. I had to squeeze and dart all over the place to get through. Anyway, I was trying to run on the left edge of the road to stay out of the way but one girl was walking about 2-3ft away from this left edge and we were coming up to an intersection. Well, she decided to look to her right and start talking to someone as I was coming up on her left to pass her. Well she then drifted left while talking and this forced me to go out wider to avoid her...unfortunately the police had a large barricade on the left edge of the road right where I was trying to pass this girl. So she basically forced me off the road and my left arm near the shoulder struck a screw sticking out of this barricade and cut my arm. I didn't realize it had cut me, but heard ripping. I thought it was just my shirt but I looked and it was not torn so I didn't think anything else of it. The area was a little sore but figured nothing happened. Didn't realize until later after my shower, my wife asked what happened to my arm...I looked at it and had the cut. Oh well. I just wish people would be more aware of their surroundings when in big groups like that.

That was my exciting race!

Probably train more than the 5 weeks I put into this!! :) Would like to do more and run them faster.

My legs stiffened up pretty quickly, and they had us herded into these lines to pick up our after race awards and shirts. About 10min later, I was finally able to stretch. Had some water, powerade, and some hot chicken noodle soup (never thought that would taste so great after a run - but it was!). It was now about 10:30a and we left as quick as we could so I could get home and go to bed. Got to bed around 11:45a, slept til 3:15p, then got up and went to work. Got to bed last night around 12:30a and slept for 11hrs!!!!


Training


Great race, great atmosphere, and a nice course. Would do it again!