2009 Tacoma City Marathon

It's Sunday May 3rd and I just finished the 2009 Tacoma City Marathon and what an experience it was for my first organized marathon. I completed the full 26.2 miles in 3:47. My goal was 4 hours at least and so I made it!!! My half marathon time was 1:41 so if I would have been able to keep that pace I could have come in at 3:22. Next time :) My darn calf and hams started to tighten after mile 19 so I had to change strides which slowed me down from a 7.8mph average the first half to 6.0mph the second half.

Things I did right: Light tight fitting shirt to keep friction to a minimum. Bandaids over the nipples just in case the shirt did rub (be sure to test them for being sweat proof). Clipped my toenails and lubed my feet and toes. Didn't bring a water belt or pack (They provided plenty of water and gel). I ate a good carb meal the night before, drank lots of water. In the morning I had my normal berries and Yogurt and added a banana instead of walnuts. I heard you don't want too much fat for breakfast before a run.

Things for next time: Use different socks (I just got one small blood blister on the side of my foot and one small blister on the side of my big toe on the other foot). Not ride my bike 50 miles a few days before running (I don't know what I was thinking there).

I sure did have fun, I would always thank the police at each intersection and encourage the volunteers and make comments to the people along the road cheering us on. They would say, "you don't look tired...". I would say, please come join us.... There response, "ya right...".