Carlsbad Marathon Recap

Hills. Hills. Hills. More hills.

That’s about it. 🙂 Ok, but really…my quads still hurt from all the hills I ran on Sunday.

My first two miles, I ran conservative before kicking it to about an 8:45 pace. I felt like I could sustain this pace fairly comfortably. I knew this course had some hills, but I was NOT prepared for just how many. I was able to hang on to that pace up until mile 17 when I had a little bit of tummy trouble and stopped for a potty break. The marathoners mile 17 was the half-marathoners mile 6 and their turnaround. This absolutely killed my mojo I had going and my PR. Realizing I still had to run a mile out and back before I was on my “home stretch” was crushing. We were back by the coast at this point and that helped a little, but I really struggled mentally from mile 17 to about 22. I had to walk a few times and hated that.

But I finished! And despite not PRing, I’m still proud of holding what would’ve been a PR pace for 17 miles. This gives me something to push for. 

I fueled with gatorade (lemon-lime), Honey Stinger products and Craisins. 

Ran in Nike Free 5.0 (which I found out are completely waterproof, which was awesome because the first few miles it was raining). Also wore my Lululemon Speed shorts, LOVE them! 

I don’t think I’ll be racing Carlsbad (at least not the full) again. 

Up next: GCI Relay