Started out feeling great. First two miles were about 8:30's. At some point early on I saw the 3:45 marathon pacer and thought, OK, I can run this pace. I got a little ahead of him (though he caught up with me at the 10 mile mark, but then I got ahead again) and just thought, if I can stay ahead, even just a little, I'll have a good finish. At some point I started hoping for a 1:52. Funny how when you think you might be able to achieve a goal time, it really makes you work harder.

I must have slowed down somewhat before mile 6.4, where the timing mats were, because the race organization has my split as 56:03.10, a pace of 8:43 per mile. My finish split time was 56:20.80, a pace of 8:24 per mile. I wish I had a watch that kept split times. My guess is that I was slower from mile 6.4 through 10 but then kicked butt in the last 5K, because when I got to the 10 mile marker I realized how great I felt.

Have more gel - I didn't carry my own and really needed a little more than I could squeeze down my throat on the course. Having some Gatorade helped though. It was so cool out that I skipped two of the water stops, and didn't feel thirsty. I may try just Gatorade next time and avoid the gel altogether.

Not enough stretching! Walked around, talked to my friend Jennifer.


Great race. Nice course, great volunteers, amenities good, post-race food and drink good. Only changes I would like are more gel on course. Water stations sufficient, well stocked and easy to navigate. Very competitive field, or maybe the course and conditions just made everyone really super fast!