Time to beat was 5:25:22. Finish time for this marathon was 5:16:53. Yes, a PR!! I was aiming for less than 5 hours because I thought I trained better for this race. I know, I know I should be happy (and I am) but I am slightly annoyed. Average running pace was 12:06.

Overall, it is a GREAT race!! The course is flat with just a few inclines. I have yet to be friends with them because I walk through them instead of running. There was wind from mile 13 till about 17.5 miles and then again from mile 20 till almost till the end. That did not make me happy. 🙁

I loved the crowd support. There was a man giving little dry martinis. So cute! I did not dare drink one. I should have because I wanted beer but they were all out. I did not know and by the time I realized it I did not want to run back for it. I think this was about mile 22.5 or so and I just wanted to finish the race.

I love the medal. So colorful! I will post pictures tomorrow when I get home. I am typing this post on my iPad and don’t know how to upload them.

The only thing I did not like about the race was that the start and finish locations were not close together. When I am done with a marathon, I just want to get something to eat and then shower. Today I had to walk about half a mile to get to the shuttle buses and then be on the bus for a 20 minute ride to take me back downtown. I was hurting and I struggled to get off the bus. Well, at least there were buses. Before I found out about the buses at the expo, I thought I would have to take a cab back to the hotel.

If you get a chance to run this race, do so. You will love it!

Next on my list is to run an ultra marathon on March 31st. There is a 7 hour limit so I think I will be OK with finishing in 6:59:59.

Happy running!