I warmed up with a couple miles of running to loosen the “plumbing” and used the porta john twice before the start of the race. I was quite hydrated and by the time the race started I had to pee like a race horse. I felt a tap on my shoulder a few minutes before the race started and heard a familiar voice say “Is that Bob Stocks?” I turned around and saw Bob and Karen Moore. It was great to see their familiar faces this far away from home. The gun went off and I ran with Bob and Karen for a couple miles then told them I had to run ahead and find a john or water a palm tree, whichever comes first. I found a bush around a corner and took advantage of that. I didn’t bring any gels with me and did not carry a water bottle either for this run. The plan was to alternate water and Gatorade at each aid station and mix in a gel here and there when they were offered. The first few miles felt fine and I was running at a very comfortable pace and my HR was lower than most other marathons I’ve run. It was funny how many people were running in tights and sweatshirts, It was 50 degrees out!! I found a few different people to run with for the next few miles and I saw the 6 mile mark and still felt great. Not fast, just not tired. Nutritionally I felt fine using the aid stations. I was looking for another bathroom around 7 miles and found one as I came upon an aid station. I ducked in and out quick and ran down the aid station looking for Gatorade but only came up with water. I heard someone say after the station that the Gatorade and gels were on the other side of the road. Oh well, I needed some sugar but I wasn’t going to let it bother me, I’ll grab some the next time. Miles 8 through 10 went by pretty quick. The course went down a street that had 3 rather large speed bumps spread out and as I went over the first one I said to the guy next to me “Oh! A hill!” I was wondering if anyone showed up early for the Starbuck’s run and I decided to picture Otsiningo Park for the next few miles. Effort level was still low at this point and my HR was only slightly elevated, I was on cruise control, walking the aid stations and keeping a 92 cadence. I managed to get a couple of gels down and one to hold onto for a few miles down the road. At the 13 mile mark I was still feeling good and saw 1:50 on the clock. I was a little surprised at the time but liked that I had a little padding for the 4 hr mark. Mile 14 went by and as I came up on another aid station I noticed the volunteers handing out gel packets. I grabbed a gel, high fived a few volunteers and kept going. The next aid station I came up to had some water so I took a quick look to see what flavor gel I was about to consume and noticed that it said VASALINE on it!!! Holy cow was that close!! I almost pulled an Ed Desantis! Wearing Aquaphor gear and holding on to a Vasaline product made my hand burn so I gave the Vasaline to a spectator and continued on my way. I turned the corner and saw more flat roads, imagine that. At mile 16 there was an aid station that actually had raspberry gels so I walked through that station and had a cup of water with a gel. That’s when I saw it! It was a scary sight, the 16 mile HILL! A bridge, it had to have been 15 feet in elevation! Heartbreak Pimple is what I heard one runner refer to it as. Over the hill I went, high fiving spectators along the way to a turn around. Yes, I said it. A TURN AROUND, WE HAD TO CLIMB THAT HILL TWICE!! The funniest thing about the “hill” was when a volunteer of a bicycle told me to relax my shoulders and let gravity do the work going down. Really? The last 8 miles were straight, flat and boring. I just stayed hydrated and kept my feet moving forward. Around mile 21 or 22 I saw an M-Dot tattoo on a guys calf and started chatting with him. I saw he was wearing Vibrams and asked him how his feet felt. That’s when he told me that he did IM Cozumal the week before and had run 8 miles before the start of this marathon. His feet were hurtin’! We were running at about a 10 min pace when the 3:50 pace girl ran by us. He looked at me and said “Are we running that slow? I said that a couple 10 min miles will do that. We picked it back up and finished pretty strong. I was glad to have the race over and was looking forward to hooking the Compex up for some electrical recovery!

Train a little

Walked around a bit, ate then drove home and hit the Compex for about an hour.


Lack of training


Great weekend getaway race. Bone flat. Well run with plenty of volunteers.