I found the 3:30 pace group and planned on running with them for the whole race. Due to the crowds at the start the first mile was a little slow so we had a little time to make up to get back on pace. My left hamstring was a bit tight for the first 3 or 4 miles but then seemed to loosen up. I had to stop and pee at around mile 6 I did it as quick as possible but then had to run fairly hard to catch back up to the pace group. I probably should have taken a couple of miles to have closed the distance as apposed to doing it in that mile. I was feeling good coming into the second half of the race. I had taken one Gel in and had tried to drink water and cytomax at all of the aid stations but it was kind of hard to get to some of them due to the crowds. Coming onto the strip where we merged with the half marathon folks turned into a nightmare. We were merging with about 40 thousand people and by the time we got onto the strip probably about 3/4 of those people were already there and there were a lot of walkers already. The full marathon was supposed to have there own lane for the first 3 or 4 miles but it was very poorly marked and so there was a lot of people walking or running at a much slower pace then what I was trying to go in our lane. I spent a lot of energy dodging around people and an even harder time trying to get into the water stations. By about mile 21 I realized that I had not taken in enough food or water and was starting to feel like I as running out of energy. The course was thinning out a little more but was still pretty crowded and I was still having to run around people. By about mile 23 I was starting to go to a pretty dark place. I was hurting just about everywhere. My feet, hamstrings and my lower back were probably what was bothering me the most but I just focused on keeping running. I walked for about 15 seconds in two different aid stations to try to take in a little bit more water and cytomax. The last 2 miles or so my vision starting going really blurry and I could tell that I was just not there completely. It is hard to explain but I found myself almost blacking out a little as I was running. I just kept telling myself to keep moving. The last turn to head down the finishers shoot seemed like the longest thing ever but pretty soon I found myself crossing the finish line. I got my medal and then started shuffling forward towards the food and the exit. I was totally out of it at this point. Things were a pretty big blur but I remember guzzling like 2 things of water and cytomax and then grabbing whatever I saw to eat as I walked. The area was pretty chaotic because a lot of the half marathon folk were finishing then. I headed over to the family reunion area to find my girlfriend who ran the half. I realized at that point that my vision was so blurry that I could not read the letters to find her. A volunteer must have saw how pale I was and pointed me in the right direction.

I think a couple of those faster miles during the fist half hurt me a little. I probably should have focused on a little bit more even pacing. I think my biggest mistakes were not carrying my own water though. The little bit of weight it would have added would have been worth it. I also should have eaten more before and during the race. I was so afraid of having GI issues during the race that I just didnt eat enough before it.

We walked over to the bag check area and then sat down inside for about 20 minutes. It felt really good to get off of my feet and after sitting for a bit I was starting to feel a little bit more normal, although it took almost 4 hours for my vision to come back to normal and be able to read signs and billboards again. We then had the mile walk back to our hotel. When we got back to the hotel I found that my feet were in pretty good shape with the exception of one toe that the whole thing had turned into a giant blister including the nail. The nail ended up falling off the next day.


I would say that my nutrition was probably one of the biggest factors.
Second I would say would be my weight. I am 5'10" and 205 pounds. I am a pretty muscular guy but still have a good 20 pounds or so that I could lose to really be in a lot better running shape.
Third I dont know that I chose quite the best marathon training plan. I used the last 10 weeks of the Hal Higdon Intermediate 1 plan as I had just come off of a Half Ironman at the end of September so I figured my running fitness was at about the half marathon level already. I think the plan lacked enough overall Volume and I think I could have used one speed day a week in the plan as well.




Overall even though I missed my goal of 3:30 I was satisfied with my performance and felt that it was a great learning experience. This was my very first marathon and I am glad I was able to complete it injury free.

The marathon itself had some problems for sure. The merger between the full and the half was very rough and something better needs to be figured out.