2006 Pacific Shoreline Marathon

The marathon was tough! I knew it was going to be a long day when maintaining pace seemed a bit difficult from the start....not the typical "easy" start where you can settle into a pace effortlessly....I had to focus to keep it around 7:20'ish pace.....check my pic, that is from around mile 9 and I don't look happy! The weather in Huntington Beach, CA was perfect for a marathon....the wind wasn't too strong, nice cloud cover for most of the race....just didn't have the legs.

Pacific Shoreline Marathon 2006 Stats:
2/5/06
1/2 marathon point 1:36:41
Finish 3:17:10
11 / 73 in my age group
Ave HR 176

...I typically carry a bottle during a marathon and this time tried to use the aid stations which was probably a mistake...had to walk several times to get some hydration and it seemed to disrupt my rhythm. I slowed waaay down for the second 1/2 and pretty much suffered in the last 4-5 miles.
I was a bit disappointed in my performance but coming off a serious block of training on a treadmill, I'd have to say it wasn't a total disaster. I did the majority of my training on a treadmill and even though I always set the incline to at least 2.0, it just doesn't translate well to road racing for me...and my legs paid for it. I ended up catching a plane home in the afternoon and my legs weren't happy.....tried to stretch them on the plane but that was a tough call.....I definitely had a hard time walking today- OUCH!
I did end up swimming at lunch which helped to loosen up the legs a bit but any extended sitting and they get pretty stiff. The swim felt good though...second swim in the last year- yes!

Swim Stats:
2250 Yards
1 x500
250 TI drills
1x1000
25o TI drills
1x250 Cooldown

**peace**