Notes
SUMMARY
Ran first 30-35 miles at ~9:30 pace, which included a little walking during the 2.66 mile laps. Focused on form the whole time. Longer break every other lap, with short break in between. Regardless, spent less than 2-3 minutes in the pit. Only sat down when I really needed it - usually if I was overheating or needed Erin to massage my legs. Heat was a major factor. Hours 8-10 were the worst, when the heat had settled into my body but I hadn't adjusted yet. Focused on relentless forward progress no matter what. Eventually I would come around. I'd have a bad hour, then a good hour, then another bad, etc. Just keep going.
WHAT WORKED
-Carrying liquid with me. I drank tailwind most of the time, but I don't think it was enough to keep up with electrolyte needs.
-Took salt pills toward the end. I think I really needed them.
-Solid food in the earlier hours. I really struggled to take solid food later on.
-Mix of beet juice and lemonade seemed to help (sugar + beet benefits) in the final hours. I was able to take it in without problems. I had quite a bit of it.
-Green tea in bottle seemed pretty good, and the small amount of caffeine was nice.
-Carrying water later seemed better (with salt pills to compensate).
-Changed my shoes and socks roughly halfway through. Not sure how much it helped, but seems like it turned out well. Gave my feet 30 seconds to dry off.
-Wore waterproof shoes early on due to the dew and wet ground. May have saved my feet for later on.
-Wore bandanas and headbands, which kept sweat off my face.
-Later on, stopped for brief walks when I needed it.
-Used GPS for first 30 miles, then ditched it for dumb watch. I think this was good to get me to not focus on pace later on. But early it kept me from going too fast.
-Bandaids: shockingly, a single pair held up the entire time. I considered getting the expensive nipple guards but never did.
WHAT DIDN'T
-Did not use a lot of the food I brought, but that's par for the course.
-Relying too much on electrolyte drink. I got into a deficit and needed salt pills.
-Pacers (Erin & Meg) late in the race were just too distracting. I'd gotten tunnel vision at that point (probably) and needed to focus my limited brain power on the most important things.
-Chaffing wasn't too bad, but I should have reapplied halfway through. Needed on my arms around the armpits.
WHAT I CONSUMED
-Tailwind: no problems, just wasn't enough electrolytes in the heat
-GUs: helpful to get nutrients, easy to digest
-Granola bars: had a couple early on to get solid food
-PB&J: pretty good early on
-Hummus & Pita: was able to eat later on
-Lemonade & Beet juice: a godsend and maybe the reason I won. Helped a ton early on.
-Sprite: good later on when my stomach was a little rough.
-Fig bars: ate a lot of these in the first half. Easy to eat, calorie dense. Could carry with me.
-Chips: kind of difficult to eat, but good when I needed salt (or needed to figure out how badly I needed salt)