Well, to start off, the weather couldn't have been better. I was a little worried about it, as the day before had been hot and humid. But, race day dawned cooler (60's) and overcast with a breeze. Perfect weather. The race started out great. I had gotten a pacer bracelet to help keep track of my time as I was shooting for a 4:00 finish. Up until mile 15ish, I was 5 minutes ahead of schedule. I kept trying not to think about it, but the thought of finishing below 4 hours sounded great! However, I knew the worst of the race was still ahead and so I had to keep pushing that to the back of my mind. After mile 15 I was starting to get tired, but I still was keeping a pretty good pace. By mile 18, I was only 2 minutes ahead of schedule. That was okay, but I knew I was fading pretty quickly. The pounding of the pavement was starting to get to me. My toes were hurting a little and I had to stop several times to stretch out. By mile 20, I had lost my lead completely and I knew it would be a fight the last 6 miles just to reach my goal. Unfortunately, I didn't have much left in me at that point. The last 6 miles was just a mental game to finish. My entire body was aching and I looked forward to the water stations so I could stop and walk, but even the walking didn't help. I just needed to be done, and I had to tell myself the quicker I finished, the quicker I could just SIT. I crossed the finish line at 4:15, which was a disappointment, but I hope to have learned a few things for next time. This race was also difficult in the fact that it was a double loop. That was mentally challenging. The first loop, finishing the half, you saw all the half marathoners going to the finish line. I felt GREAT at that point and wished I could join them! The second loop around the road was very LONG. Seriously. It was a long stretch and I know I made a comment to my husband on the first lap about how long it was and he told me if I thought it was long this time around, wait till the second time. He was right. It was nice to see all the people cheering, though, it seemed there was less on the second time around. Splits: 1 - 8:51 2 - 8:17 3 - 8:17 4 - 8:28 5 - 8:57 6 - 8:37 7 - 8:29 8 - 8:32 9/10 - 17:50 (somehow I missed the mile marker) 11 - 8:54 12 - 9:38 13 - 9:05 14 - 9:10 15 - 9:51 16 - 9:08 17 - 9:57 18 - 10:50 19 - 9:51 20 - 10:40 21 - 11:04 22 - 11:09 23 - 11:33 24 - 11:59 25 - 11:31 26 - 12:10 .2 - 2:14 I've got to figure out how to better train, I guess. Obviously, I hit the wall at 18, and, although, 19 was better, never really picked it back up after that. Advice?? I don't feel like I am going out fast in the beginning, it feels like a good pace, but maybe I am, I don't know. As for the body aches, should I take ibuprofen before the race? It was actually really bad those last six miles. I felt like I had the flu. And, I don't know what to do about my toes feeling slammed (only on one foot). That was painful. After the race, I discovered more aches that I didn't know about. Apparently, I did something to my lower back during the race, too. It's really sore. Maybe more core strengthening? Glad it's over and just glad it was okay. Give me a few day and I might start thinking about another one :) | 