Last weekend, I completed the City of Oak Marathon. The race weekend started with an easy, nice shakeout run the day before, and I feel ready for today to pace the 4:45 group. Originally, I was going to race the event, but they were shy of pacers for the full, and they asked if I could, and of course, I am going to say yes. The morning routine is as usual: hot cereal with almond butter, coffee, water, and a high-electrolyte Gatorade about 35-45 minutes before the start of the event. I was able to use the porta-potty for plenty of time. Even though this is a very long event, I included a warm-up walk/jog of about 1 mile to the start line, similar to last year. I was able to chat with a few friends at the start area. It was great to see many friends and runners who were ready to toe the line to tackle either the 10k, Half, or Full Marathon. The announcer mentioned that there were about 7k runners in today’s event.

---

Miles 1-3

The temperature at the start was nicely in the upper 40s. The plan for today was to get close to a 4:45 pace from the start, given that the course gets a little bit challenging in the latter miles. I started in Corral B about the mid-point. I really wanted to run a super easy pace the first few miles and then decide to pick it up later when we warm up a little bit.

Miles 4-8

I was already feeling warm, so I took the neck warmer off. I’m feeling good, a large crowd of runners, but with the corrals starting method, this year, there were so many issues moving along without the need to zig-zag. We continued to fuel every 3 to 4 miles, first with a baby food 100-calorie pouch, then, around mile 8, I had a Maurten 160-calorie pouch. Seeing many friends that were running the half returning after their turnaround, including Abby, who was pursuing a PR on the half.

The pace was still a very conservative one, but doable to hit 4:45 target. We were just running just a tad above the overall average to make sure we can pick it up in the later miles. I am also monitoring the heart rate as I do not want it to get out of control, so I keep it at around 150-160.

Miles 9-13

Now, with only the full marathoner on the course, I can see ahead of me and determine how I am going to pursue this. The group was in good spirits. I provided a few instructions on what was coming and possible ways to tackle it. We pressed the pace a little bit, a few seconds ahead of pace, during the downhill. With the increased pace, we were just at a comfortable pace to be able to tackle the uphill on the way back. But something was not completely on point, and the heart rate was creeping up, and I was feeling the effort, even at the easy pace. I need to be careful if I want it to continue to lead the group to meet the 4:45 goal.

Miles 14-19

These miles were basically flat. I saw many great friends returning after the turnaround. Cameron was running solid and fresh using a run walk approach, going steady and ahead of me.

I was glad we were running this section under the cover of trees at the greenway. Without the cloud coverage, you can still feel the pounding of the sun even at 60 degrees. By this time, I let the group move ahead as I was finding myself not able to keep the easy pace and keep my heart rate in check. I decided to start dropping and get the next pacer, the 5:15 pacer. Elena was pacing that group; I have paced with her in the past, so I knew there were going to be great discussions and conversations. From time to time, there was a nice cool breeze that was phenomenal in cooling me down.

Miles 20-25

Here comes the main hill, and finally, the sugars were in range. I slowed down a touch with Elena to tackle and fast-walk the hills, helping other runners stay on track to tackle the hill, as after that, it was going to be an easier path to the finish line. After the last big uphill, the course got us going straight on Hillsboro Street. By now, I am feeling much better and with plenty of energy, I started to make sure others were hanging with us and addressing and helping them with any issues..

Miles 26 to Finish

My heart rate was in Z3, feeling the effort and a few final rolling hills, and I pressed the pace all the way to the finish line. Helped a few runners along the way, as one of them started with our group, it was her 1st marathon and I did want it for her to finish strong with a smile.

Highlights:

Course: Lots of runners, but there are very wide roads for the most part until the half and marathon split. The course narrows at the greenways a little bit, but there are no issues as there are only marathoners running this stage of the race. Hill-wise, there are rolling hills that require attention to the effort. Mile 18 hill is challenging, especially in the later part of the event, as it is a long, steady hill. Need to take advantage of the tangents at the turns and turnarounds, which could add distance to the route.

Venue: At the finish, it was good, simple, but effective. Some music, water.

Expo: Small Expo – Better than last year with a few more vendors.

Weather: Mid 40sº and nice cloud coverage at the start. By the end, we were hovering high in the 60s and full sun.

T1D: Sugars were very in range but on the high side for most of the event.

Fueling:

Pre-Race: 1 serving of Hot Cereal and Latte. A banana about 45 minutes before the start of the event.

Race: Tailwind, Beet and Magnesium mix, mostly water at the aid stations, one baby food pouch, and one Maurten bar.

Post: Protein shake, vitamin, and lots of water.

Learning Points:

• Applied the learning about taking easy and keep a watch on my heart rate better this time.

Month/Year	Event	Location	Type	Time
Nov-25	City of Oaks Marathon	NC	Full	5:10:49

---