Notes
From the very beginning of this race I knew that I was going to be running alone. The course was basically all on a trail and it was an out and back. I went through the first mile in 5:30 which was faster than I wanted to go, but I think it was slightly downhill. The marathon started 15 minutes before the half marathon so when i got to the first mile I was already starting to pass people. Some people would hear me coming and move over but others wouldn't move and forced me to weave in and out of people. Around mile 4 this guy on a bike rode in front of me and told people to move so that was helpful, but he didn't ride with me on the way back. The footing was ok... there were parts where I had to run on uneven ground so that I could avoid puddles, but nothing awful. The first 5 miles went pretty well. I tried to drink water whenever I could, but I learned that it is very difficult to grab a little paper cup when you are running 5:30 pace (now I know why galen dropped his water bottle). At about mile 6 I started to get chills so I'm pretty sure I was dehydrated. I think around mile 7 I got a side stitch. It started on my left side and eventually moved to my back also. The last 5 miles hurt a lot. I got this weird tingling feeling in my left foot. I think it might be nerve compression, but i'm not sure. The tingling feeling spread to my whole lower left leg and started in my right foot also. I started to get light headed when I had 3 miles left and I decided to slow down. I was really worried that I was just going to pass out on the side of the trail. Even though I tried to slow down my splits were pretty consistent. I ran 5:43 pace for the last 3 miles. I was in so much pain the those last 3 miles. I'm very happy with how I did and it was really nice to win a race.