Notes
T53: I was sick for most of the race. If it had been a local race, I may not have even started the race, rather than have a DNF. The breakfast I had from room service did not sit well. I ordered something I had almost every day, but what arrived was not what I thought I ordered, and I was sick right after eating it. I may not have felt well, because I did not sleep at all the night before.
The run started out ok, but fell apart during the 2nd half. I noticed that the Garmin registed the 1/2 M point as 13.6, rather than 13.1. That meant that I would be running an extra mile. As bad as I was feeling, that was not good news. I kept looking at the Garmin, wishing away the miles.
I also started the race on tired legs. For some reason I thought the race started at 7:00. So I walked from the hotel, 1.5 miles. I got there and found out it started at 9:00. I have no idea how I made that mistake. In any case, I had to walk back to the hotel to let my friend know the time change, as she would be running around the course to cheer me on. Then, of course, I had to walk back to the start of the race. So, I walked 4.5 miles before the race started, as well as the walking involved in dropping my bag off (the furthest tent), and getting to my corral (the furthest from the tent). That, together with not feeling well, did not bode well for my pace. I guess I was just lucky to finish.
The people along the route cheering for me really helped. My name was printed on the bib. People cheered me on and called my name. I would wave and smile at them and thank them. Whenever that happend, it made me feel a bit better, and I could pick it up a bit. It was especially important on the last mile. I was really dragging, and the crowd was pulling for all the runners, and cheering loudly. That picked me up a bit to run the last leg of the race, when I had been doing a lot of walking. It's hard to believe that I ran faster than my first marathon--in which I did not walk at all. And I did a lot of walking the last 1/2 or 1/4 of this race.