Notes
Perfect weather for the race, but it was a tad windy at times. Knowing that the course was uphill for the first half and downhill for the second, I decided to try to focus more on effort than pace. I think I was pretty successful at that.
I was able to go out and run the first 4 miles (which also means the last 4 miles) of the course on Saturday, and although I was aware of the incline at the start and a short and sharp hill after km 5, I had no idea that 7-8 was a long and gradual uphill, then another one after 9, downhill for a bit, then uphill again going into the turnaround. The pace obviously slowed going up the hills, but I just tried to focus on effort and form, and tried to visualize myself cresting the hills in Newton. I got to the top, did the turn around, up one last little hill, then the race was on. Although the plan was not to pick it up until after 10 miles if I felt good, I started hearing footsteps at km 14 so I couldn't help myself so I started to push it a bit. Then I hit the 16 km marker, and that was my mental checkpoint to start racing to the finish. I almost felt bad for being so strong and able to pass those 4 people in those final 5k, but I was just out there doing my own thing and couldn't worry about that.
I took gel about 15-20 minutes before the start, and was planning on another partway through the race, but it somehow fell out of my pocket. I'll have to get that sorted out. Maybe I'll carry some gels on my long run this weekend even if I won't be consuming them. I almost forgot to hydrate on the course, but I quickly remembered this was marathon practice so I took in some Ultima every 4k or so. Overall, it was a great workout and a good experience to get out there and race again too.
21.19 seconds for the final 100m sprint.