I started off at an easy pace. I saw people bolting out & was tempted to chase them down right away, but held off & forced myself to keep my RPE low. Sure enough, around mile 2 people started slowing down & by mile 4 I was beginning to pick them off pretty regularly. By mile 10 I had moved into the top 10 runners and was feeling pretty good.

At the half I was still feeling good, but my quads were starting to ache and the guy I was pacing was pulling me along pretty well. I stayed with him & tried to lose myself in my music and the tempo of the run. The sun was really starting to beat down and I was taking an extra 10-15 secs at each water stop to stretch out my calves and quads.

At mile 16 we went down into a creekbed and climbed back out. I jogged this one but a couple miles later we got to the big creek and I decided to walk the climb back out. A strategic choice, but I think once I start walking it's easier to justify walking the next time, so at the next rise I walked a bit too and started watching my average pace suffer. I went from about 7:30/mile to 7:35/mile and watched 3:15:00 hopes fade & then 3:20:00.
But I was OK with that, because I really just wanted to do better than I did at Portland in October. I walked most of the last 6 miles and finished with 3:48:00. So I was well under that time and didn't beat myself up or force myself so much that I'd get injured.
The last 4 miles were pretty tough. We were running along the coastline, so it was a little cooler & there was some shade. I caught a guy who'd pulled away from me at the 22 mile aid station & gave him the "Only 4 more - Let's Go!!" speech. I sped up for a while, but could only hold the pace for about a half a mile. I returned to the slower tempo and started picking out landmarks for my next walk break. Around mile 24 the guy passed me again and that's the last I saw of him.
I did manage to keep running the last full mile of the race and stumbled across the finish line. I quickly grabbed two cups of water & poured them on me and was guided to the medical tent where I got some more liquids and a couple of bags of ice to cool me down. I didn't feel that badly on the course, but it turns out that 75 degrees to a guy who was training in 40 & 50 degree weather is a pretty big deal. I probably should have been pouring water on myself at the last 3-4 aid stations.

I enjoyed it. It was a small race with plenty of volunteers and no food/water issues at the aid stations or finish line.