Night before: I felt good about my eating and activity the day before, but I ate my last meal too late. It made my last big poop before the race come later than I wanted it to be. Dinner was broccoli slaw and turkey with butter and coconut oil. Had chocolate at night before bed, as usual for these days anyway.
Race day: Good breakfast, worked well. 4 scrambled eggs cooked in butter and coconut oil, 3 blocks of mixed berries chopped in processor, plus extra coconut oil raw. Drank a whole coconut water before hitting Utica. Ate 2 gels (45 min before, 15 min before start).
Overall: use pure coconut water next time, drink sparingly but more regularly. Take water in small doses from the water stations if necessary, or to wash gel down. Be careful! Also, carry four or five gels; try to eat one every half hour and I’ll still have an extra or two if needed.
Mile notes and times from watch splits (not accurate w/official time, which was about 90 seconds faster!)
M1 13:21
Hard to stay motivated (great crowd though) but I ran alright. It was my second best mile time even with the slight uphill start. It sucks early on but mentally gets better. Also, with real hills coming up, this is a place to push.
M2 15:06
Still struggling. It was here I got over my fear of coming in later than two hours by accepting the fact that I couldn’t hang… very liberating. Lots of motivation around but I failed to capitalize due to the mental battle. Again, push harder here until the real hills come partway through here, when you turn the corner.
M3 16:04
This is up the golf course hill. Sucks ass. Everyone walks so my pride died here and stayed dead, thank God. It was here I began to believe in myself. Running the flatter spots if possible is good, but walking is probably smart for a while. Somewhere toward the end of here I took gel 1.
M4 16:38
Still climbing but there are spots I can maybe try running next time, if I feel up to it. Fewer people but they were big motivators! I drank too much water too fast and had gas & water issues for a good long while.
M5 13:05
Big relief to cross the 4 mile mark at the top of the hill. This is when I knew it was all but over, a feeling bolstered as I ran downhill with that great view. Here I ran better than anywhere, partly because I was going downhill but also because I was feeling great all-round.
M6 17:09
I had hoped to carry the success of the previous mile but hit a wall. I just got mentally weak as the body started to slow down… Might have been a gel issue. Began having breathing issues that might have been mental. I just couldn’t wrap my head around not needing to heave when breathing. It was like my cardio capacity had vastly outstripped my body at this point. Hills go slight up and down but still, it was hard to run long.
M7 17:34
I should have eaten a gel earlier than this. The lack of shade got a bit hot but not too bad. I was still struggling with the breathing thing on and off… again, might have been mental. Still, I felt great. My legs were starting to tire here but I began to feel up to better running so I made the commitment.
M8 15:11
Breathing stuff still bothersome. Here the runs got better as I went downhill. Lots of great support from the few who stayed—very awesome. Still felt good. Had my legs been better I could have ran much more.
M9 16:59
Had last gel early here. Again, gels earlier! Legs were crapping out big. I could have rocked this if I still had decent calves.
M end 6:21
I jogged as much as possible and tried to sprint the finish—went well enough. Calves were smoked pretty much, though.
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