Went out faster than planned. It's a relatively small marathon (1200 finishers) and there's not much to hold you back in the beginning. Still, I was feeling pretty good and opened it up coming down Palomar Airport. I just didn't back off once it flattened out and my heart rate spiked and I cooked out around 14 miles. I hung in there until about mile 19 when my pace decreased about 30 seconds per mile. Was 1:30 through the half and staggered though the back half in 1:37.

Stagger to the car to get the Newtons off on put on the calf sleeves.


Perhaps going out may have made for a more even effort. If I went out in 1:32, maybe I could have repeated that for a 3:04, but we'll never know. More run-specific training with more over-distance training runs.


Early start for marathon makes for a great start. Plenty of porta-potties and parking is right next to the start / finish. Palomar Airport Rd. is a tough section with about 3 miles of climbing. You do get to come back down, but that saps your legs of strength you'll need in the later miles. It is a tough test and a challenge to strategize how to tackle the hill.