At the start, I tried not to do too much weaving through the throng of runners/walkers. I figured if the crowd held me back a bit, that was probably better than me embracing my enthusiasm and taking off too fast. I settled into a comfortable pace, which I was happy to find was close to my goal time. There was a fair number of spectators, given that this is a smaller event, and many of them kept with the race theme, ringing cowbells and blowing horns that were supposed to sound like cows mooing. One lady even rang the mission bell at the top of her house!

First few miles went great. They had aid stations every 2 miles with water and cytomax, and I my plan was to alternate cytomax and water & gel at the stations. By the second aid station (first gel), I was ready to ditch my long-sleeve top, and was comfortably trucking away. There was a couple-block long hill leading up to some railroad tracks and the levee, and I was able to pass a few people on this incline.

Got to the third aid station, and the volunteers didn't have any cytomax ready. I don't know whether they were still mixing it, or what, but I wasn't about to wait around for them, so I drank some water and kept going.

The rest of this lap seemed pretty uneventful. I popped an endurolyte tablet at one point, wanting to make sure I wasn't low on electrolites from the missed cytomax. Headed back into the park feeling alright, and passed under the start/finish banner at 2:03 and change--a new half-mary PR!

The trip back out of the park felt pretty lonely. There were over 3000 people doing the half mary, and not even 300 doing the full. The route had me running in the opposite direction of the crowd headed for the finish line. I cheered them on and got a few cheered back.

Everything had been going fairly well up to this point, and I thought the big challenge for the rest of the race would be the solitude. Then, about mile 15, I felt my ITB seize up in my hip. Crap. I've had things tighen up on long runs before, but usually its my calves--something I can stretch relatively easily. My ITB had never given me real trouble. I start looking for kids with tennis balls, or anything I could use to roll out my leg--no luck. Not too long after this, my knees start to ache.

There were a couple of points when I thought I should just quit. Get to the next aid station and quit. There were two things that kept me moving forward. First, my mom was up there, somewhere ahead of me waiting to cross the finish line with me. I had talked her into getting back up and training after a bike accident and 2 broken wrists last February derailed her progress by promising to do the full marathon if she did the half. I wasn't going to break my promise. Second, our friend Chuck has been fighting leukemia, and this marathon was an LLS fundraiser. Chuck is presently in the ICU fighting for his life after he got an infection following a bone marrow transplant. Chuck is fighting to breathe--I sure as hell could keep jogging.

Running along the levee again, I came up on a young girl who told me she was turning eleven next week. Her dad had run the half, and was now riding his bike along side her. She was hurting pretty badly, and said she knew she would be able to make it to the finish, but it would take everything she had. I'm still not quite sure what to think of this dad letting his young daughter do a marathon. Running is a great, healthy activity to be able to share as a family, but is it good for a young, still growing girl to run for close to 5 hours?

Somewhere around mile 23, I tried to disconnect my lower body from my brain. I told myself I couldn't feel anything below the waist--kinda like an epidural. Maybe if I had ever had an epidural, this would have been more effective! Then I decided to focus on what felt good. Anything below the waist was out--everything ached, my hip was screaming at me, and my timing chip strap was chafing my ankle. My obliques were getting sore, my under arms were chafing, and my heart rate monitor was rubbing a hole in both my chest and my back. But my shoulders--now they felt fine! Yes, that's it! My shoulders are in good shape! I'll just keep my mind on how good my shoulders feel, and not let it drift to what hurts! It's all about the mental games. Interestingly, you can actually see my pace improve here!

With just over a mile to go, I passed a guy I had followed briefly during the first lap. Then he had been moving and looking strong. Now, he made me feel like I was in fine form. As I passed him, I told him "I hear there's massage and beer up this way!" That got a good laugh!

Coming back into the park, I saw a middle-aged woman limping along. As I passed her, I realized she had on a half marathon bib, and was humbled by her determination.

Nearing the finish line, I hear a few cheers/screams come up from the side, and find my mom, niece, nephew, brother and SIL hollering for me! My mom and niece come out into the course, and Mom grabs my left hand while my niece hangs onto my right. Together, we ran the remaining 100 yards to the finish.

1. Run on the sidewalk or adjacent dirt path more. The course had us running in the gutter a fair amount with a pretty significant slant, and the bike path wasn't exactly flat either. After talking to my ART guy, I think it was running on the angle that ticked off my ITB.
2. Take advil or tylenol before and during the race. I remember reading that one of these is not good to take during an endurance event, but I couldn't remember which one it was. So I decided to skip them altogether. Bad choice.

Hobbled over to the food area, then to the massage tent. Begged to massage folks to work on me, even though they were past their scheduled time. This is something I don't get--those who finish at the back of the pack are usually the ones who need the massage services and food the most. So why do races so often not have these things available any longer when the BOP'ers are coming in?

Mom and I shuffled back to the car, drove home, and I took an ice bath. :)


ITB issue.


This is a fun, small event. Except for the camber of the surface on the road and path, the course is really nice. The coordinators had a bouncy house at the finish area, which was great for the kids waiting on competitors, and the food at the finish line was good. Oh, and the finishers medals are great--MORE COWBELL!!