Race Notes: Denver and Los Angeles Half Marathons

I wrapped up October with two half marathons seven days apart.

The Denver race was first. As usual, I was using the my Garmin 405 GPS to time my run/walk intervals.  I've had the watch for over a year and it's never once worked correctly in a race. After hundreds of runs where the Garmin screwed up, it actually worked in the Denver race. Unfortunately, I screwed up.  The night before the race,  I changed my normal run/walk intervals to give myself a shorter run and a longer walk.  I was having trouble breathing in Denver's thinner air and I figured I'd need to change my run/walk ratio.  I over corrected.  I did need the shorter run, but the longer walk was a waste of time.  The other issue in Denver was chafing of the chub rub/inner thigh variety.  Between the long walk intervals and chub rub, I had a slow day.

Los Angeles was advertised as a fast, flat course.  Lies!  All lies!  It was all hills.  None of the hills were especially steep, but it was unrelentingly up and down.  In more Garmin misadventures, I forgot my Garmin at home.  I was worried about that since I hadn't run without a GPS in several years, but it was fine.  Overall, I was pretty close to my normal race pace despite all the hills and heat.  Not bad considering I didn't have my watch for pacing.

I'm off from racing until December.  I could run the Silver Strand Half Marathon, but I'm going to skip it.  I need a little break.

Race Notes: RNR San Diego Half Marathon

The San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon is the race that started it all for me.   It's my hometown race and it's always a fun one.  Little mini accomplishment: In celebration of losing 40 pounds, I wore my original race day jersey.  It was nice to have that jersey fit me again.

During the race, I realized that this race sets the standard for me in terms of crowd support.  There are tons of people with signs, aid station volunteers in costumes, the "drag" cheerleaders, the bands.  The local fans make this a great race.

Thankfully, we started at 6:15 am (which required getting to the race shuttle at 4:45am...and I'm so not a morning person!).  The early start meant we were pretty far along before the heat kicked it up a notch.  The heat really hurt me.  I was super slow along the hottest stretch of Morena Boulevard.  The thing is you're so close to the bay, but the buildings block all the breezes.  The other, not-fun section was Hwy 163.  The road is sloped and it's difficult to run.  They year they had fantastic Taiko drummers to inspire you on the 163.  They were absolutely fantastic.

Early in the race, Mike Sheehy passed me on his way to completing his Guinness World Record run.  He ran over 400 miles in 7 days and raised $50,000 to cure cancer.  Wow.  In the last 2 miles I saw 5 of my TNT coaches from past seasons. That was really awesome and got me motivated for the final push to the finish line.  It wasn't a fast day for me, but it was a fun one.

(Photo credit: My friend Debbie who always remembers to snap pictures on the course!)

Race Notes: Lehigh Valley Half Marathon

It had been years since I've been back to the Pennsylvania in the Springtime.  I'd forgotten how amazing it is when everything blooms at once. Winter is replaced by bright green leaves, fluffy pink cherry blossoms,  white dogwood trees and azalea bushes that look like giant pom poms of hot pink, coral and purple.  I love living in Southern California and I loved Texas, but it's hard to beat Pennsylvania in the spring.

After a few spectacular days which were warm and sunny, race day was cold, gray and rainy.  Not fair, but that's how it goes.  Right before I left for the race, my mom suggested that I swap out my tank top for a long sleeved shirt.  Mom knows best. I was really happy that I wore the warmer shirt because it was cold on the race course.

More and more, I'm loving these smaller races.  This one was only 4,000 people and it was wonderful.  We started from my high school gym - oye, the Clearasil scented nostalgia.  The race looped around the city parks and through a 150 year old covered bridge.  The race finished on the track of the stadium where I'd done more wind sprints than I care to remember..

Mostly, I had a good race.  Part of the course was on crushed gravel which was soft and cushy, but kept filling up my sneakers. I had to empty my shoes three times.  What do other people do to keep their shoes from filling with rocks?  I must learn this secret.  My other little mishap happened at mile 6. I passed a Team in Training runner limping along with an aching IT band.  I told her I'd run ahead and send back a coach to help her.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a coach which is odd since I normally see our coaches every few steps on the course.  Eventually, I found a way to cut across the course and loop back around to were I remembered seeing a coach.  Of course, this whole adventure added about a mile to the run.   However, I did get to run twice through the covered bridge, so I guess we'll call that a bonus.

Since I'd run a little farther than I'd planned, I nearly missed seeing my parents on the course.  My mom and dad were waiting for me at course mile 12 (or Christine mile 13).  I was trotted along and finally heard my dad call me. I was already a bit past them, but got to stop and say hi after the course looped around for the final stretch.  It's always awesome to see a friendly face on the course - especially on a cold, wet, longer-than-I-planned run.

Overall, this was one of the nicest races - lovely setting, great volunteers, yummy post race goodies, bands along course, a gorgeous finisher's medal and a polar fleece jacket instead of the usual race tee shirt.

Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, I'll definitely see you next Spring.

Race Notes: Rock N Roll Dallas Half Marathon

Today was the change to daylight savings time which added just a bit of worry to getting to the start on time.  I'm staying at the Hyatt.  Yesterday, there was a note on the bed that said the room had a smart clock which would update automatically for daylight savings.  Dear Guest, Don't touch the clock.  The note also said that the clock wasn't reliable.  If you had to be somewhere on time you should set a wake-up call.  So the clock is smart, but lazy.  Or maybe the clock just doesn't like you.  Either way, don't trust that smarty-pants clock.  (BTW, it didn't work, but my cell phone alarm did the job flawlessly.)

Steve isn't with me this trip since he's a road coach on the TNT cycle team.  His team had their event, the Solvang Century, yesterday.  (Go TEAM!  You guys rocked it!)  Normally, I'd never schedule an event during his race weekend.  I screwed up the dates and accidentally double booked us.  On most race mornings, I dress in the dark so Steve can snooze.  This morning, I had the lights on and actually looked at myself in the mirror.  I've lost a lot of weight recently - certainly a few pants sizes.   When I ran in New Orleans, I had to retie the drawstring on my running pants because they were sort of falling down.  I didn't want to buy race clothes right before the race since I wouldn't have time for a long test-run.  This morning I looked in the mirror and these pants are ridiculously huge.  Why didn't anyone tell me I was looking like MC Hammer? 

The race itself was good.  I lived in Dallas for a decade and it was nice to see the city.  The course showed some of the nicer spots - downtown, the new money mansions in Turtle Creek and the old money mansions on Swiss Avenue, finally into Fair Park to the finish line at the Cotton Bowl.  The finish line was annoying in that you couldn't see it until mile 13.05.  I hate a hidden finish line.  I want to see it because it gives me a little boost for that last half mile.  Also since we ended at Fair Park, I was really hungry for a Fletcher's corn dog.

I'm still a tad sick, but luckily I didn't have a coughing fit for the entire race.  I was congested, but I can deal with that.  A coughing fit would have been a real problem mid-race.  I got across the finish line and immediately started on a coughing spasm that lasted for several minutes.  Of course, this happened directly in front of the medical tent.  No Doctor, I'm not having an asthma attack; I'm just clearing out 13.1 miles of phlegm.

All in all a good race - LISA, how did you do?

Race Notes: Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Half Marathon

I knew this was going to be an awesome race as soon as hit play on my Ipod.  When I crossed the starting line on Tchoupitoulas Street, the first song on the shuffle was perfect for the day.  Out of thousands of songs in my running mix, the Ipod picked, Dr. John's Back to New Orleans.  That had to be a good omen.

I loved this race.  Probably the most consistently beautiful course I've ever run.  It's everything good you hear about New Orleans - the Mississippi, the Garden District, creepy Lafayette Cemetary,  the French Quarter and the glorious homes up Esplanade Avenue.  Every street was lovely and the people were wonderful.  (It was the first time I had someone smoking a cigarette hand me a cup of water at an aid station.)

I ran slowly, but comfortably for the entire race.  I was a bit worried since my training has really suffered since January.  Between my swollen ankle and moving houses, I lost a lot of training time.  The weight loss more than made up for the reduced training time.  It's a lot easier to run if you drop 15% of your tonnage.

One more thing I have to cheer - the pre-race potty situation.  If you've ever raced you know the worst thing is that there are never enough port-o-lets at the starting line.  A marathon start is 20,000 over-hydrated people showing up at one time; there are always huge lines to get to a port-o-lets.  I've stood in bladder-busting lines that were 20-30 people deep. This race had the best bathroom innovation ever.  Each starting corral had 5 port-o-lets inside the corral itself.  No need to leave your corral to stand in long bathroom lines and hope you can make it back in time to cross the start line.  Brilliant.

Race Notes: Country Music Half Marathon and Avenue of the Giants.

Two races, eight days.

Country Music Half Marathon - The race was hot and hilly. Not steep hills, but constant rolling hills. The entire race was going up or down; there were no flats. My nutrition was a mess. Sometimes the heat gives me nausea and I can't eat, then I bonk. Other times, the heat makes me ravenous. That's what happened here. I was through my entire stash of Gu's and trail mix by mile 7. Thankfully, Nashvillians were giving nibbles along the course (including a yummy, ice cold beer at mile 9).

Overall, this was a very sloppy race for me. I never really got tired, but I wasn't putting in much effort. It was great to go slowly through my old neighborhoods. No regrets.

Avenue of the Giants - I planned to walk this entire course since I was doing it with TNT walk alumni including Steve. My absolute favorite race ever - the California redwoods are magnificent and you have a few hours to simply enjoy the peace and beauty of the forest. Dear Heavens, I want to do this race every year.

Also, the Avenue is surely the recipient of the most improved finishers medal. Last years was sort of lame - that part in the center is a sticker. This years is lovely - also, great tee shirts.

Race Notes: Pasadena Half Marathon (Now With Extra Drama)

This was the Re-do of the Inaugural Pasadena race. The race was scheduled last November. Unfortunately the race was canceled a 4 am the morning of the event due to poor air quality from the wildfires. I was disappointed for the competitors, but also for the race organizers. The organizers, a community non-profit, had tried to put on a great, high quality event only to be snuffed out by a natural disaster. A lot of competitors were pissed especially since the event didn't have cancellation insurance and couldn't refund entry fees. However, runners who were willing to try again were given a steep discount. (Lets keep this in perspective. Some people lost everything they owned in the wildfires. A race entry, while annoying, isn't that big.)

For the re- inaugural, I paid extra to pick up my race number on race morning. Last November, I very nearly missed picking up my race number when we got caught in the wildfire evacuation traffic. It's good that I paid for race morning privileges this time. Running to catch the Amtrak to Pasadena, we were confounded by a convertible roof that got stuck halfway up. Then when we changed trains in LA Union Station, Steve's wallet got lost or stolen. We finally made it to Pasadena long after the race expo had closed.

The race was challenging because it was rainy, windy and chilly. There were times when the race conditions were miserable, but there were also some really nice miles. The course was slightly hilly including a steady climb for miles 8-10. I had a little stomach ache and decided to stay off my beloved raisin nut trail mix on the course. I ended up finally using the Shot Blox I've carried in my race belt for the last 18 months. My tummy held up and I had plenty of gas to the finish. Along the course, there were a few spectators and some truly valiant volunteers. As I rounded the bend to the finish, Steve was waiting. It was awesome to see him at the finish line.

Steve and I spent the afternoon walking around the art collections and gardens of the Huntington Library. We barely covered half of the place. I was telling Steve that I wanted to come back and see the rest, but we haven't had much luck in our two Pasadena trips - wildfires, storms, lost wallets. He laughed and reminded me that we had three trips to Pasadena. The third trip was also a misadventure. Pasadena just doesn't like us.

Congratulations go to the event organizers - they did a great job and this was the quality event they envisioned. You'll have to pardon me if I don't show up for next year's race. After wildfires and storms, I'm worried the third race might have a swarm of locusts!

Disney Princess Race Report

Gee, my race notes are 10 days late. Perhaps because there isn't much notable about my performance. It was not my best race or my worst. I had a consistent run with no complaints. Most races I come home with a few things to improve and a few things that were perfect. This time, I have neither. I had a good day, but not a great one.

The Disney Princess Half Marathon was a well produced event - flat race course, well organized, nice weather. It was, unfortunately, a bit boring. The course went through Epcot and the Magic Kingdom which was cool, but took up less than 3 miles of the 13.1. Between the two parks, there was a lot of nothing.

Here is what gives me faith that this race, which is already very good, will only get better. We met two people from the Disney Endurance Sports group. Both asked what went wrong, how could they improve, how did Disney compare to the Rock N Roll Marathon series and the Nike Women's Marathon? They weren't looking for kudos; they were trying to learn how to run a world class event.

Race Notes: Surf City Half Marathon

Let me start by admitting that doing a half marathon on a sprained ankle may not have been the wisest decision ever. If this had not been the final race of the California Dreamin' series I wouldn't have run at all. However, I really, really wanted my California Dreamin' medal and jacket.

After I sprained my ankle, folks at Rehab United gave me some excellent advice about wrapping and icing and the swelling was greatly reduced by the end of week. Also, thanks to nasty cold that smacked me hard on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I had plenty of rest. It's easy to keep your ankle elevated if you can't get off the couch. By the race my ankle was as good as I could have hoped.

My plan was to walk the race to reduce the impact of running. When I got going, I figured out that running wasn't going to be a problem but swelling might. Time to replan my race strategy. I wanted to get the race wrapped up as quickly as possible; therefore, I was running a lot in the early miles.

My nutrition was off somehow, because my energy lagged in miles 8-10. I'm pretty sure I was drinking enough, but maybe I should have gotten some additional electrolytes. The problem could have been that it was a pretty boring course, with a long (boring) out and back. I really felt for the marathoners who had to run 1 section of the course 4 times - the boredom would be too much for me.

At the end of the day, I came home with two of the prettiest medals in my collection. The surfboard is a classic woodie surfboard. The California Dreamin' medal is gorgeous, huge and heavy. Man, I love that thing.

Report - Carlsbad AKA When Gravity Attacks

On mile two, I fell. Hard. (I won't go into the details, but I'm likely to kick the next person who stops dead in front of me in the race pack. Hello, go off to the side to tie your shoe. There are 8,000 people running this race.)

My knee got some road rash and my ankle was twisted. I sat on the curb for awhile and assessed the damage. A very kind woman from the Cure JM Foundation ran over to help. She was a total sweetheart. In fact the Cure JM Foundation had great volunteers all over the course.

Once I regathered myself, I took a few tentative steps and decided that I could keep going. In retrospect, I got very lucky. With 11 miles to go, I probably should have stopped. Honestly as long as I didn't run hard my ankle didn't hurt at all until the last quarter mile.

All in all, I had a really nice race. I saw a few of my mentees and a friend from work. I was strong all day and didn't ever really get tired. I could have gone another few miles if I'd have had to do it.

Now I've got a nicely swollen ankle, but I'm still planning to do the Surf City Half Marathon next weekend.

And now, the parade of injury photos.

Race Report - Rock N Roll Arizona

This was a great trip and a fun race.

I got to stay with my friend Erica which was very cool. I hadn't seen Erica since Leia and Jim's wedding two years ago. It was awesome to hang out and catch up. Erica's husband was out of town, but her three super-dogs were home to keep us amused.

On race morning, Erica woke up at o'dark o'clock and drove me to the starting line - what a luxury. Normally, I'm trying to find the parking and starting line on my own. It was great to have a local take on that chore. Once Erica dropped me at the start, she drove to the finish line and rode her bike back to watch the race.

The half marathon started at an entirely civilized 8:30am. I felt pretty strong and was having a nice morning. I ran into Erica somewhere in the first few miles. It's so nice to see a familiar face on the course.

There was really good course support with lots of people out cheering. My favorite cheering section was the belly dancers. There should be more belly dancing at my events.

Around mile 6 my foot started to twinge, but it was no where near the hobbling pain I had in Dallas in December. From there to the end of the race I nursed it a bit - not running hard or pounding my foot. At mile 8, I met up with Stacy from the NYC chapter of TNT. She was nursing a cranky IT band (I've been there). She and I chatted and zipped through the last few miles together.

For once, I had my nutrition precisely right and I was strong all day. I had my usual pre-race rice krispy treat, a tiny bit of trail mix on the course, about half of a Gu at mile 9 and Cytomax at every aid station. I'd heard that Cytomax was the best drink and now I completely believe it. That stuff rocks.

At the end of the of the race, I met up with Erica and we had an ice cold beer. Oh, sweet, delicious beer. After that it was a nice lunch and a plane home to San Diego.

Like I said, a great trip and a fun race.

Short Race Report - White Rock Half Marathon

Roxie smoked it. She did awesome and I was incredibly happy and proud. Congratulate her! She earned it.

Starting Line: Fun, but there were no corrals and there were 17,000 runners. Officially, there were 3 groups, but there was no indication of where the 3 groups were supposed to queue. Also, there were a fair number of spectators in the runner's chute. It was just a huge mass of people going all different paces.
Miles 1-4: good.
Miles 5-7: my plantar fasciae started to be tender and then moved to full-on pain. I've struggled with plantar fasciitis for months, but never so badly during a workout.
Mile 8: I tried to lift my spirits by cheering for other people which sort of worked for awhile.
Miles 9 -13.1: I remember nothing but my heels hurting. Last night someone asked if we'd gone along McCommas Boulevard and I didn't know. It was all pain, all the time. I'd run a minute to relieve the pain, then that would hurt. Then I'd walk a minute for some relief, than that would hurt. Then I'd stop and stretch. Lather, Rinse, Repeat for 4 miles.

My slowest half marathon ever, but I had a great weekend in Dallas.

Calling doctor for a referral to physical therapy.

Race Notes: La Jolla Half Marathon

Hot. It was so very hot. In fact, today was record setting heat. Bless Noel's heart. As we got out of the car this morning, she pointed off into the distance and said, "I think I see the marine layer!" It wasn't the cooling marine layer; it was heat squiggles. Some people do well in the heat. I am not one of them. If I was supposed be in direct sun and hot weather, then I wouldn't be so pale skinned. Given the choice of a full marathon in the cold or a half marathon in the heat, I'd take the cold every single time.

Here is the picture of the race for me using the brutal course elevation map.



A: Feel great. I'm hot, but I'm fast - just banking minutes for when the heat kicks it up a notch and I have to slow.

B: This is where I stopped to heave on the side of the path along with a lot of other runners in the middle of "The Hill". Before I got unwell, I knew it was going to happen. For a few minutes, I had black spots swimming in front of my eyes and my stomach was churning. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get sick so I'd feel better. It didn't work. Afterwards, I still felt puny.

C: What I'll call the "shocker vomit." I felt sick and got sick within seconds. No warning. I was sure I wouldn't finish at this point. Luckily I was close to the side of the road. About a minute later someone showered the runners with a garden hose. I love this person with my whole heart.

D: Someone who I won't name, but her initials are Lynne, met me here with ice cold beer. There is a place in Heaven for her, I'm sure. Normally, I'd pass on beer on the course. However, I was already sick and the beer was cold and wet. Plus, my stomach was completely empty. I've never enjoyed a beer more.

E: Steve and one of the cycle mentors rode up on his bike to check on me. I was in the full-on Bite-Me mode. Bite-Me mode is awful and it happens to everyone eventually. Steve has done enough endurance events to recognize the Bite-Me's. He checked on me, cheered me on for a minute and then rode away on his bike.

F: Stomach stabilizes. Damn if that beer didn't help! I started to feel good and strong. This is when I knew I'd finish. There is a special spot in Heaven for the people along the course who hosed down participants. I don't think I could have made it without a relief from the heat.

G: Flying. I'm flying. Here I start to be me again, cheering on other runners and walkers. I start having fun.

H: Princess St. hill - why? Why another hill? Why?

I: Go, go, go! Passing on your left. I'm sure a few people wanted to slap me when I passed them and I'm not talking about giving me a high five.

I'm sunburned and blistered, but I came home with this.

After the race we hung out in the shade of the post race beer garden. Traffic made it impossible to get out of La Jolla Cove and we decided to simply hang out there instead of getting in the car. We finally headed out after about hour. On our way out of La Jolla, we saw (what I hope) were the last few finishers turning onto the last mile. We cheered for them, but they were in the throes of complete Bite-Me. I doubt that they heard us.

Race Notes: San Francisco Half Marathon

What a race.

The day started beautifully for an event. The weather was crisp and lightly windy, but no rain. It was a little bit of a hassle getting to the race location, because the cab driver couldn't figure out the directions. I had to walk over a mile to get to the race and missed the start by a little bit.

I was pleasantly surprised that it was a Team in Training event. There were a lot of purple jerseys out there and I met tons of really wonderful people.

It was a good race for the first 6 miles. That changed when I turned onto the Great Highway. It's right along the ocean and I expected the winds to be intense there. What I didn't expect was that the skies would select that moment to open up a downpour. I had bought a bright yellow plastic rain poncho the night before the race. It was so windy I couldn't get the thing on me. The poncho kept blowing all over the place and I couldn't find the spot for my head. The cold, wet plastic was slapping me. My efforts to continue walking while putting my poncho was like a Jerry Lewis sketch. Nice to be the comic relief for the runners.

The rain and the wind got to be so yucky that I squatted down and made a sort of teepee out of my poncho and tucked the bottom under my sneakers to that the wind couldn't blow it away from me. Why I bothered, I'm not really sure. By that point I was completely drenched - my hair, pants, shoes and socks. I got rid of my gloves because they were soaked and making my hands even colder. I squatted there in my yellow poncho teepee and ate my Chocolate Powerbar gel. That was the closest I've ever come to just giving up during a race.

When I got myself going again, the skies mostly cooperated. There was some light rain, but nothing horrible. I finished the last few miles in relative ease.

Notes:

• It's long past time that I learn to run my own race. I love walking with people and encouraging them, but I'll slow down to support them. It's not good for my own finish times.
• The weather did not bother the San Francisco locals nearly as much as it bothered me. They were trained for it, while it was a completely new experience for me. There's nothing that can replace training in the same conditions as the event conditions.
• I'm not sure what my actual time was for the race. Between the late start and the teepee, I was slooowww. Unfortunately, the race didn't have chip timing, only gun timing so I'm not sure how long I was on the course. It was slow.
  
• As wet as my feet were, I did not get blisters. All hail the miraculous Injinji running sock.
• Feel great today. The tendons in my right knee were tender yesterday, but today I'm fine without ice or ibuprofen. I'm going to try to baby my knee this week.
  

Race Notes: Carlsbad Half Marathon

Not a bad day, but not the race I was hoping to have. My goal was to break 3 hours, which for a walker is pretty darn good. Our training has been spotty for the last few weeks - we haven't really been doing long mileage. Other than last week's 10 mile training, I haven't done a training longer than 5 miles since the Pasadena event in December. To break 3 hours, I needed to maintain a pace of 13:43. That was certainly optimistic, but not unrealistic.

I think my race finish was about 3:05. Not horrible, but not what I wanted. I was nearly 25 seconds per mile over my target pace. Grrr.

However, it's good to remember that less the 8 months ago I had never done an event longer than 10K. That's a scant 6.2 miles, and to be honest my 5K and 10K days were long, long ago. To have come from where I was a year ago and to be able to crank out a half marathon with minimal training is quite an accomplishment.

Race Notes:

• Please, please, please learn to hydrate better the day before events. I was thirsty all day yesterday.
• Parking always takes forever at these events. Steve and I barely got there in time to go to the bathroom and queue for the start. We didn't really get to stretch. I did some high steps and some leg circles as we walked toward that start. That was not really enough stretching.
• Oatmeal is the perfect pre-event meal, particularly my beloved Coach's Oats.
• Until the final mile, never go faster than my optimal race pace. I've heard this a bunch of times. On Friday, I listened to a talk given by one of the "pace team" leaders and it really sunk in for me. Essentially for every minute you go faster than your optimal pace, your body is going to take that minute back and 3 more as a surtax later in the race.
• If I want to break 3 hours, I need to lose weight. Every extra pound forces me to work harder or go slower.
• Get a decent night of sleep. Going to bed at midnight and waking at 5:30 is no way to go into a race.
  

Race Notes: Dublin

• My race nutrition wasn't exactly correct. I used 2 energy gel, plus 1 bag of Luna moons and 1 bag of Sport Beans. Also, I had some biscuits and a Mars bar from spectators on the course.
• Always take a gel at mile 24. I need that last burst of fuel to make it to the finish.
• Luna Moons are satisfying to eat, but they aren't the best course nutrition. They are slightly too large to eat and breathe. Sports Beans are fine for this.
• Gels are best, but Beans are good too. Beans are more satisfying to eat.
• Hills are slow because my form falls apart. It's not my cardio capacity, it's my form.
• In cold weather my throat gets frozen/dry. It feels like really uncomfortable. Chewing gum might help here.
• I felt good all day, except for a bit around mile 12-13. I had a negative split, but I was tired for miles 25-26.2.
• No more carrying the camera. I forget to take photos anyway. If I didn't take any in Dublin I won't take them anywhere.