The day turned out much better than originally forecasted. The day before the race, they were calling for rain all morning and temps in the 30's along with 20-25mph winds. Thankfully most of the day was overcast and I believe it only rained on me for a total of 15 minutes which beats a complete soaking over 13.1 miles (and a poke in the eye with a sharp stick). The bad news is that the winds were plenty close to that 20mph range which made cetain parts of the course a bit tough.

Went out the first 8 miles at exactly 7:55-8:00 which was too fast. I really wanted to go 8:10-8:20 the first 3 and then gradually work my way down into that range and finish strong. So basically miles 1-8 were too fast, miles 9,10, & 11 were 8:15-8:20 (which was still acceptable, but trending in the wrong direction) & miles 12 & 13 kind of tanked at just under 9. Not how this guy had the raced planned, but when all was said and done, I am happy with the finished product.


I think for this distance I can go sans nutrition (as long as I drink water & gatorade a couple times). Even though I had one gel at 60', it seemed to bother my stomach and I am not sure I really need it. I didn't need nutrition in my longer HM training runs, thus I probably didn't need it during the race. My body/stomach seemed to respond better to the water & gatorade combo.

Bagel, brownie, 2 bottles of water & one full bananna.


Pacing for first 8 miles a bit too fast which definitely hampered the last 3. Even pacing would have probably helped me finish with a better time, but live and learn. Typically I've always gone out too conservative in the beginning and never felt I reached my potential in a race, so in the back of my head this too-fast-a-pace in the front end was somewhat intentional.