After a nice shakeout run with my daughter Bianca yesterday, I felt ready for today. Not to PR but to get a good solid training run-in. The morning routine is as usual: hot cereal with almond butter, coffee, water, and a banana about 35-45 minutes before the start of the event. I was able to use the porta potty with plenty of time. Even though this is a very long event, I included a warm-up job of about 1 mile to the start line, similar to last year. I was able to chat to a few friends at the start area.

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Miles 1-3

The temperature at the start was nicely in the 40s. The plan for today, given last year’s disastrous performance, was to start all the way in the back, very close to the sweepers. I really wanted to run a super easy pace the first few miles and then decide to pick it up if the left knee starts to feel okay. And see if I can run the second half faster than the first half.

It was so great to see so many friends during these first few miles. I was able to talk to Srinivas for a while, who was running with his friend from work. As I was settling into a super easy pace I was able to chat with many of them, some tackling the Full, others the half marathon.

Miles 4-8

I was already feeling warm, so I took my gloves and a neck warmer off. My left knee is still feeling okay. Sugar is running on the high side, just a little bit of target. I continued to fuel every 3 miles. Seeing many friends that were running the half returning after their turn around. Talked to Baohong, who at this mile was running with his daughter, who was tackling her first Half Marathon on her birthday. That is priceless.

The pace was still a very conservative one. I am just running just a tad above the overall average to make sure I 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.

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. I pressed the pace a little bit. I increased the pace just barely, just enough to get my heart rate in the upper range of Zone 2. I still felt great; my left knee was giving me some warning during the steeper hills going up and down, but nothing that was causing me to change my form. I am slowly picking runners up, one by one, and steady.

I was already feeling the temps now well into the 60s. The cloud coverage was now gone, and my sugars were still well above the upper range. My legs were feeling okay. I never felt the burning sensation I get when running while my sugars are this high. The sensor could be off; it happens, so I continue with my fueling strategy as well as my pace strategy.

Miles 14-17

These miles were basically flat, which was a relief for my knee. I saw many great friends returning after the turnaround. Cameron was running solid and fresh. Prashant pursuing an under 4:00 hour marathon was also looking great. Udit was running his second marathon today and was looking to PR, he also looked solid.

I made a minor bolus adjustment as my sugars were still high and I was still taking in the fuel as planned. I continued without feeling the need to walk which was a great sign compared to last year’s performance.

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.

Miles 18-25

Here comes the main hill, and finally, the sugars seem to start trending down, but are still on the high side. I slowed down a touch to tackle the hills. Passing people who were struggling at this time. There was a runner around mile 21 who was suffering from cramps. I stopped and offered him a salt tablet that he gladly took as it seemed like he was struggling with the cramp, not with the lack of energy.

I continued making progress, my heart rate now was Z4-Z5 at times when trying to get over the hills. I slowed down enough to recover my heart rate back to at least Z3. Grabbing water at the aid stations.

Miles 26

Arrrrgggggg!!!! My heart rate was in Z5, feeling the effort and a few final rolling hills and the full sun got into my head. So yes, I finally walked for about 1/3 of a mile.

Finish

After the rolling hills, and recovery I was able to pick up the pace to finish with a big smile. Although mile 26 proved to be really hard to keep at pace, overall I was able to run the second half of the event faster than the first half. Very happy with the results.

Prashant was there at the end to cheer for me. He was able to come in under 4:00 hours with an excellent performance on a challenging course. Udit did well, although he was not able to meet the timeline he was hoping for due to the fatigue of the later miles of the event, he did perform very well. Ken finished strong as well just a couple of minutes behind me.

In all very happy with today’s event.

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 – just a few vendors.

Weather: 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 high for most of the event. I bolus and adjusted a bit to stop letting it keep going higher.

Fueling:

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

Race: E-Fuel/Tailwind and mostly water at the aid stations and 2-baby food pouches, 2-Maurten bars fueling every 3 or so miles.

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

Learning Points:

• It is possible to run an overall negative split marathon.
• Learned from last years and adjusted accorndinly.

Month/Year	Event	Location	Type	Time
Nov-23	City of Oaks Marathon	NC	Full	4:48:28