Notes
Going into this I was a bit naïve - based on last year's results I thought I could be in the lead pack. They added prize money ($1500 for first) and the winning time was 2:22.
Weather was perfect (if a bit cold) - mid 30s with little wind. I wore my thin UA gloves the whole race.
I definitely went out too fast but felt very good. At 5 miles I was in 6th place and my split was 28:25. The first 5 is fast since the start is at the Capitol. But there are some decent hills in the arb before 5 too. After seeing the split, and the fact that I was not anywhere near the lead, I focused on keeping it easy - how long could I run easy and stay at 6:00 pace? At 10 miles I was at 58:15. There was no clock at 15 and at 20 the clock said 1:59:05. At this point I was feeling good, though worried about cramps, so did not push since I didn't want to blow up in the last 6 and wanted to ensure a PR.
I started to feel hamstring cramps around 14 and calf cramps around 19. I tried to run more on my heels and made sure to not push to try to avoid having major issues. Matt was on his bike by me for the last 8 or so. He said I was still on 6:01 pace at 24 (if the race started at 7). At 24.5 I was confident I could make it to the finish without cramping badly so tried to pick it up. I had been passed by a guy around 13 and stayed about 15 seconds behind him the rest of the race. Before 25 I got passed by a guy who also passed the guy I had been following for the last half of the race.
As I turned the corner to the finish I really expected to see 2:38:xx on the clock. Instead it was 2:39:xx and when I finished I thought the clock was at 2:39:5x. My final time ended up 2:40:01. Adding insult to injury there was a guy that clearly finished behind me (based on finish line photos) who ended up with the same time and was awarded 7th place while I got 8th.
I'm very frustrated that the 20 mile clock was off by more than a minute. I need to remember that this marathon is an event and not a race. At least the course was well-marked so I didn't come close to getting lost, though who knows if it was accurate or if the mile markers were in the correct spot. I didn't wear a watch and maybe I need to wear my garmin for these types of races. Had I seen 2:00:12 at 20 (my split according to the race results) I would have been much more aggressive over the last 10k. Maybe I would have cramped badly and would have had to stop and stretch, but maybe I would have picked up 30s and PR'd.
At the end I was cold, but felt pretty good otherwise.
I liked the race course - a lot of rolling hills but I feel like that suits me just fine. It was lonely though. Not a lot of people on the course and I ran by myself for the most part.
I need to figure out a way to beat the cramps. 2 immediate things to do are do all of my long runs in racing flats (not just the fast part) and look into using hotshot again.
Prep for the race was perfect and the same plan as other recent races (beet juice 2.5-2 hours before, banana 1.5 hours before, caffeine pill and 2 midols 30 minutes before, GU (caffeinated) 15 minutes before). The previous day we ate Noodles around 12:30 and I did eat some peanut M&Ms in the afternoon and powerade and a banana in the early evening and some crackers at night.
I took a caffeine pill and 2 midols around 14 during the race. I drank Gatorade at every aid station where I could get it. There were a lot of aid stations - every mile and most of them were ready for me as I went by (2-3 didn't have Gatorade). There was supposed to be GU at 6.5, 12, and 18 but I never saw it.
No UC issues, no real toe pain, and my shoes worked great.