One week after blowing up in the PDX marathon, I thought I would put my thoughts down on what probably went wrong.

Heat: This one is obvious. This summer SUCKED. Cold, cloudy and rainy. EVERY Saturday run was in cloudy and cool. Sunday morning was completely clear and started in the high 60's. Temps quickly climbed into the 70's and high 80's by my mile 16. I was severly sweating by mile 1! I should've known I was in trouble. I probably just didn't get back on top of my sodium/water loss.

2 weeks prior: I had a weird stomach illness 2 wks pre-race. I was EXHAUSTED for Monday thru Thursday. I had a hard time eating and couldn't hardly walk across the apartment without needing to collapse on the couch. Maybe I didn't recover from the 28 miler…who knows. I had diarrhea (sp?) for two days (Wed and Thurs). The week before the race, however, I felt fine. I tried to crank up my nutrition and hydrate like a freak.

Race HR: To begin with, I positioned myself about half-way between the 9min and 10min/mile signs. But it sure seemed like EVERYONE was pushing really freaking hard even within the first mile. My HR jumped into the 150's w/in the first mile and into the 160's by the first few miles. This sustained through the ENTIRE race. If I remember correctly, it ramped up into the low 170s from about mile 11-17. WHAT THE HECK! I thought my LT was high 150's all summer.

Nutrition: Plan was to start Hammergel at 1:20 and proceed 2:00, 2:40, 3:20, 4:00 (if disaster struck…which it did.). Powerade starting at 2:00 and alternating with HG intake. Actually started Powerade within one hour because I was sweating so bad and had to pee. I knew if I pee'ed and was sweating so bad I would NEVER get back on top of my hydration/sodium. I ended up drinking at least twice as much of both than I have on any long run over the last two years. I knew I was losing A LOT of water. Started Hammergel about when I planned, but I ended up taking it in much more frequently than planned. Combined with the WARM Powerade (what was up with that?!?), my stomach couldn't take the sweetness after about 2:45.

NOTE: The night before the race, I realized the Raspberry HG bottle was nearly emptied. That is what I used all summer…duh, it's gotta empty at some point. Ended up loading up with chocolate, which is unbelievably sweet. Robin Oswald suggested getting plain and adding other flavors. We'll see.

Cramp: I need to ask someone about this or check out some websites or books. That booger would not let up for WAY too long. With my runs this last week, that left hammy still feels weak. I wonder if doing so much cycling in such a horrible position could have weakened or screwed up my hamstrings? Maybe I'll find out if I get a real bike.