(Photo courtesy of Paul)
As I mentioned, when I ran last year, on-course hydration led to issues. At that point last year, I was on track to PR. But with having to stop every 100 feet or so after the aid station because of flem getting stuck in my throat, that went out the window. So this year, I planned to completely skip it, opting for pre-race nutrition instead.
After having met up with the rest of Team Catapult, Paul and I headed to the start line. We were able to start up front, which helped with clean running space for most of the first 1 1/2 – 2 miles. As I didn’t have a “blocker” this year, that helped out a lot.
My goal for this year was to negative split while trying to PR.
Paul helped with the pacing as I tried to obtain both of those goals. However, I ended up going too fast at some points. The 2nd mile was slower than I had wanted it to be.
Even still, it was a much more consistent run over that final mile. I did pass on the aid station after last year, and sprinted into the finish. It was a great “warm up” for the following day.
Thanks to Team Catapult for all their help and support, and to Paul for guiding me!
