Country Music *Almost* Marathon

I don't want to whine, so let me just say that the marathoners slower than a projected 4:00 finish were herded off the course sometime after Mile 20 or 21 due to stormy weather. Of course, that included me! The following are a few key points and lessons learned.

Race Organization

Kudos to the organizers because the expo, starting, and finish organization were outstanding as it should be after so many years of Country Music Marathon experience. Crowd support was perfect. I was somewhat surprised to see that maybe 90-95% of the runners were 1/2 marathoners. The only negative was the traffic jams and lack of parking for the expo and the misery trying to leave the stadium after it was over. Most likely the traffic jam leaving the stadium was due to the sudden exit by most everyone because of the weather. Lesson learned: Don't think they will just let you finish a race at your own risk, no matter whether you signed the usual waiver.

Race Recap

It was nice to get the finisher's medal, of course, but still I cannot put it on the books as a completed marathon. This was the first time I ran a continuous hilly race and I can say for certain the hills were winning. I knew that if I could hang on to Mile 20, the rest was flat. To be herded off shortly after Mile 20 was to say the least...agonizing. True, I was beat up and already in run/walk mode from the hills, but more so from my stupid ITB pain that joined my race around Mile 16. Doing the math on my physical condition and what was ahead, I would have had a finish time of around 4:30 give or take a couple of minutes. That assumes I didn't get struck by lightning or carried to the ocean in a whirlwind! But I would have finished with an acceptable time and that is the most important thing after all the recent training. Lesson learned: Need more hill training and need to take care of the ITB somehow.

Pace Timing

After a night of charging as usual, I turned on my Garmin 305 a few minutes before start time and, "beep" - "low battery alarm". I had that happen on a previous Garmin too many times, but this was a different model and the first time for it. For some reason, something sucks the battery dry even though it may have been on a charger. I had no watch. My day was going "south". But wait, I had my BlackBerry (for tweeting of course). Searching through it, I found a stopwatch. I tinkered with it for a few minutes and found it to be my lifesaver! It could handle laps and would display all recent laps and cumulative time. Perfect! Crisis avoided! Lesson learned: Always have a Plan B on your pace timing.

Hydration
On my previous marathon just 8 weeks earlier, I suffered calf cramps from Mile 20 - 26.2. That alone cost me about 9 minutes off my finish time. I was determined to avoid that on this next race. One obvious thing was to stay well hydrated. This was also my first long race where I hydrated myself pretty well in the couple of hours prior to the start. Arriving early at the start, I had plenty of opportunities to drink and pee before the mob came and the long lines to the potties. I took a few swallows of Cytomax at every stop along the course. This was also the first long run where I needed to pee after 10 miles. After we split off from the 1/2 marathoners, I found a potty and let it go. I lost two minutes, but no big deal since I was soon to be suffering a whole lot more lost time in the miles to come. As of Mile 20.5 when we were herded off, there was no evidence of impending calf cramps. So hopefully, the hydration was the main culprit. From researching online, I know that is not always the case. Lesson learned: Stay well enough hydrated, but not so much that you must pee in the first 10 miles; otherwise, you will stand in line at the potty. Also, I am sold on Cytomax.

Body Glide
I got a sample packet of the Body Glide stuff. On race morning I applied it all around my toes and a little on some parts of my feet prone to rubbing. After the race, I checked my feet and found absolutely no signs of distress. No rub marks. No blisters. Nothing. Lesson learned: I am sold on Body Glide.

That's about it. With heat and humidity just ahead, I have no plans for another 1/2 or full marathon until around October when the weather begins to cool.