Was hoping to do a sub 1:45 if I had a good day but wasn't too stuck on it. Started out with an 8 minute mile exactly. Usually I am a bit ahead of the planned pace, and sticking the first mile is usually a sign that I am not going to be able to do my hoped pace. But I stuck with the 8s, and just monitoring the situation. At mile 5 I pass a guy that I have talked to while running this race, at least 3 other years. We briefly talk, but he is slowing up so I head off. Took one gel the whole race, around mile 6. The Perpetuem seems to be doing me well enough on its own. A little later, I end up talking with another guy who is hoping to do a 1:45. Getting into a conversation, I can lose my focus and slow up a bit. Can you see where that happened in my splits? After realizing we are trailing off, we boost it up a bit and get back on track. Both of our GPS watches are marking about a tenth of a mile before the markers, and we get worried about which is correct. Thinking that courses are certified as a whole and not for individual markers, I rely on the watch. That was a bad move, but maybe I couldn't have done anything about it anyway. As we near the dreaded Assateague Bridge that usually has horrible winds, I saw that we just need to crest this bridge and we are home free. Well, the other side is a lot longer than I was remembering at the moment. :-) Nevertheless we crested the bridge without losing time, and stuck our mile splits on the other side. Coming to the finish line, the line is a bit further away than I was figuring, and I miss sub 1:45 by 18 or so seconds. Oh well.

Don't slow down when I start getting in conversations!

Went for another 5 miles on Assateague Island, to get my miles in for the day. Legs were still pretty fresh. Not sure if that's from my Zensah sleeves, Perpetuem, my training, or a combination.

Went to post race party, chowed down on pizza and did a lot of yoga stretching, then ran another 1.5 miles back to my car at the inlet, foregoing the hotel shuttle. Stood in the 50 degree ocean for 15 minutes to try to get those legs recovered after 19 miles. I sure feel pretty good for having done 19 miles today.


My 15 miler on Monday and hard 5k on Thursday.


Good race, I highly recommend it. I would carry one bottle though, as the aid stations can seem far apart. The post race party is awesome, with a pool party at the hotel, and lots of beer and pizza. Running from Ocean City to Assateague is quite a treat, it's one of my favorite races. The full marathon was supposed to resume next year, and I would probably do that one. The full marathon isn't as good as the half though.