Notes
Night-before preparation of my shorts, shirt, GUs (making impressively big lump in Nathan belt) and socks. Left watch on charger, since I wasn't confident it would make it through a marathon otherwise. Set alarm for 5:00 am.
Sunday, 5:38 am DW comes in and asks if I'm getting up. Egad! What happened to the alarm? I still don't know; checked later and it was indeed set for 5:00 am, not pm. Jumped up, rinsed off in the shower, put on my running clothes, and trotted the dog around the block. Had a glug of kefir and ate a granola bar with plenty of water. I had hoped to have a banana on hand as well, but that didn't happen.
Left home about 6:10; not too bad since my intention was to be out by 6:00. Drove to the lot I had used 2 years ago, and yes, there were still plenty of spaces available. It's nice and close to the start. Relaxed in the car, finishing up the 16 oz. bottle of water. Walked around, scoping out the start area, went back to the car and drank a couple more ounces more from bottle #2.
Got in the wave B start group, fairly far back. The mayor (L. G-B) made brief remarks and the Anthem was sung by a real person, not the scratchy recording that LTC typically plays. The starting howitzer impressed a lot of the folks who had not done this race before. It took a bit over 5 minutes for my wave to get going, but when we did, it was clear sailing. Round the bend, past the Japanese Taiko drummers, who are a great starting act for the race.
Mile 1 - I had no idea of my pace. It felt quite a bit easier than my tempo runs, and I expected this mile to be a little slow, but when my watch told me it was 8:36, I was pretty happy, and backed off a little. Mile 2 was right on, at 9:04, and the subsequent miles went back and forth through the half, ending the half at a perfect 1:58. Crowd support I felt was good, but obviously somewhat below normal. Passed the gospel singers, the polka band on South St., some recorded music, some small combos. Sheridan was the nicest part, as usual. Took water at every opportunity. Tried the straw thing at the first stop, but I always swallow as much air as water when I do that, so from then on, I'd grab a cup without straw, step off, gulp down the water, toss the cup, and continue.
Brian F passed me on Hwy 2. Saw Marty K, then of course Elliott, Alice, Sallie, Phil. Quite a few spectators noticed my LI-COR shirt. Todd's wife yelled that she is Todd's wife. One guy yelled LI-COR - Running for Science!
I still felt pretty good heading up 10th Street, and that's not always the case. DW was camped on the wall near the stadium, with some new friends to add to the cheering for me.
Miles 12-13 were still on pace, but I was not too confident about the next 13. Passed the temptation of the turnoff, and it seemed like a fair contingent of runners were continuing with the full.* Taiko drummers were in their 2nd station, under the bridge where they got lots of reverberation. They had a flute player, too.
Got water and ice at the next and some subsequent stations. Anne R was offering her encouragement. Polka band had moved to Normal, and Matt E (tuba) recognized me as I passed. Barb S was in her usual place at the lake, saw me and offered to take a request. I said whatever, and she played Fanfare for the Common Man, beautifully.
It was like, boom, at the half my pace dropped to 9:45, then 10, 11, 12 and worse. Proof I had trained only for the half. Also, the sun had emerged from the clouds at about the halfway point. I had been forcing down GUs every 4 miles or so, doing so shortly before water stops so I could wash them down. Still stopping and gulping water every chance. Someone was handing out washrags soaked in ice water. I took one, put it on the back of my neck, and kept it there to the end of the race. Nice. I was actually a bit happy to be climbing the hill up to the dam, as it indicated progress, and it seemed like I was doing as well as anyone around me. Down 70th into the park - the part in the park would have seemed especially long, but seeing and hearing Barb twice helped. Long climb back up 70th, but at least I was running it, unlike most people. Another water stop at the dam, then down the hill. Wasn't really able to take advantage of the decline much, sadly. Along Normal a nice, unaffiliated lady offered water and energy gummies. I took the very cold water bottle and drank half before discarding. I could feel it lowering my body temp. Progressively more walking as I drink. About a mile later, I feel threatening twinges of cramping in all leg muscles at once. Usually, it's just a particular one, but this was a full-on attack of everything. I stepped off the street immediately and grabbed a tree while letting the muscles relax, and thus avoided hard cramps. That only took about a half minute, then resumed my run-shuffle. I have learned from experience that walking just prolongs the suffering, and the longer one walks, the harder it is to get back to something like a run.
At this point in a marathon, I'm kind of in a state of altered consciousness, not really thinking about where I am or how many miles remain. It's just, keep going.
At mile 25 I heard and saw DW. Her cowbell echoes very nicely off the opposite concrete channel wall. Stopped long enough to give her a kiss. She told me to finish up and meet her at home. That sounded like a good idea. She later said I looked tired!
Last mile in past years has seemed interminable, but again, altered consciousness just made it something I needed to continue doing. Good encouragement from spectators and volunteers along here. Finishing on Weir track was new and unfamiliar. I was hoping it wouldn't require a full lap of the track, and, thankfully, it did not; only about 100 yards, in fact.
Stopped the Garmin as I crossed the mat, and actually got my time within a second of official time. Cool. The Guard members were great, handing out the medals, water, snacks, and I made a point of thanking them for these and for their service. The end of race goodie bag was packed with a ton of stuff.
Long walk from the finish to the car, but maybe it was a good thing to warm down that way.
I look surprisingly good in the finish line video (link above). Sure didn't feel that good. ;-o
Temp at end of marathon: 76F.
Course records were set on both the men's and women's half. Not on the full.
Pro tip: You can avoid chafing pretty much altogether with liberal use of Body Glide, not on your skin, but on the seams of your underwear. It's miraculous.
One other note: During this marathon I passed 25000 lifetime running miles recorded here on RA.
* Check afterward showed that 20% of the runners this year were doing the full, as compared with only 11-13% in recent years. More full marathoners from out of state and out of USA chose this as one of the few available marathons.