Wow, did that feel like a long race this year. I went out fast (for me), hit the midway point at 2:14 and really thought I had a chance at another sub-five-hour time. As the sun came out in force and the temperature continued to rise, though, leg cramps hit me all over my legs (some in spots I didn’t think could cramp). My blisters felt OK for most of the race and turned out to be much better than I expected when I got home. I had put moleskin patches on both arches before the race and that seemed to do the trick.

The Nike+iPod thing turned into a total joke. It had been accurate on short runs, but was terrible at the marathon distance. It thought I was finished after about 25 miles and got further and further off each mile of the race. The total time recorded was also off by a lot. Thank goodness for the ChampionChip on my shoe or I would have no idea what my true time was this morning.

Here are the complete stats according the TCM 2006 results page:

• Start: 8:06:48 AM CST
• 5K split: 00:30:25
• 10K split: 01:01:46
• Half split: 02:14:41
• 30K split: 04:27:26
• 20 mile split: 03:45:39
• Finish: 05:09:32
• Pace: 11:48

Here’s what the Nike+iPod adaptor thinks I ran:

As of today, I’m officially retired from marathon racing. At least until my kids make me run one with them…DK