What a great race!! The place was packed, and the racers and crowd were all awesome today. I planned this race and my execution out well in advance, and my last three (3) decent training runs (18, 22, 14) were all strategic in execution to plan for the marathon. I started in corral 2 (wishing I had started even later, but ok with my results) so as to not go out way too fast with the super-runners. I maintained a very strong and aggressive pace, and kept my HR intact, but still a bit higher than I wanted. My splits were right on track and my legs felt great. I have been struggling with left glute and groin soreness, and these surfaced about 4 miles into the race, but they do not stop me or force changes, so I just ignore them. I worked on my form as much as I could to keep consistent, and never felt fatigued or struggled as I have in the past.

Typically my races start off great, I post a good half marathon split, then fall apart at mile 16-18. Today was different. I went out about as planned (perhaps a bit quicker based on split times), but kept in a good rhythm and ran my own race. At mile 16 I just told myself "not today" (as in bonking out), and kept that in my head the rest of the race. I had to pee at about mile 3, but did not bother until it got out of hand at mile 21, then found a bathroom along Mission Bay Park and freed myself of the burden. That slowed me down by about 45 seconds, but also refreshed my legs just a tad which allowed me to kick back into gear.

Although my mind told me to walk/run at about mile 19-20, I ignored it and kept my form running in my head so I would keep pace. The 3:30 pace group finally caught me at mile 22 (which was a bummer), and I tried to keep pace for about a quarter mile, then let them go, knowing my goal was to break 3:40, not to guarantee a 3:30 time. Going around Fiesta Island I ignored my GPS watch a few times to allow feel to take over and drive as hard as I could. When I left the island for the last .5 mi run to the finish, I picked up the pace a bit and pushed through to the end. Knowing I was sub 3:35 was an incredible feeling, and I was proud of how I executed my plan very well.

I owe a great deal to a number of people who helped me change my form, training and mental aspect of the race (Dan Cadriel, Carlos Mendoza and Sue Meno to name a few). Thanks to them and others, I finally broke my 7yr old PR and am ready to keep advancing toward new heights.

I wonder if I could have held pace with the 3:30 group for 4 iles. I doubt it, but I am curious to know how long I could have held out, and whether it would have affected me later in a bad way.

Walked around the finish area, hydrated, connected with my family, snapped a few photos, and walked the LONG walk over the bridge to the car. Drove to Aliso Beach and chilled on the beach before spending a few days at Disneyland!


Nothing that I am aware of.


I love the race, love the weather, love the crowd, HATE the finish area and how difficult it is for spectators. I am not sure what they can do to fix it, but it is not an easy race for spectators unfamiliar with the area to navigate and plan to be at.