Notes
Not as fast as I'd hoped (goal was 1:30) but still a substantial improvement over White Rock last December. A couple observations:
– Hydration was an issue. With the relatively warm temperature (72º at start) and extremely high humidity (80% or higher), I know I was losing more water than I could replenish from the water stations. In the future, I need to either carry water or be willing to stop and walk the few seconds it takes to drink.
– I had serious cramping problems starting around mile 7 that didn't diminish until after mile 10. This suggests I was low on electrolytes. I need to make sure to do a better job pre-loading. I also didn't take the gels I had with me, and I probably should have – taking one around mile 5 and another around mile 10, as has been my habit on long runs. As for why I didn't take them, I didn't want them while running – but I certainly regretted it later.
– I need to study the course better in the future. I didn't know until I got there that miles 9-11 (that is, from mile marker 8 till just before mile marker 11) are a long, steady uphill. The fact that it was shallow didn't matter; ti still left me tired. Follow that with a hill so well-known it has a *name* on the latter half of mile 12, and it's a recipe for a hard run if you don't expect it.
All those things said: it was still a great run. Top 1% overall, top 2% for men, and top 6% in my division – results I can be proud of. More imporantly, I still bettered my PR by a minute and 52 seconds, and that's a nontrivial improvement. Given the conditions, I fully expect to be able to break 1:30 running a half marathon late in the fall with continued training.