Race day

Race lessons learned:

• For destination marathons that require long travel, add an additional recovery day in front of the marathon. We landed in Germany Friday morning and only went to the race expo, and we did limited walking on Saturday, but my legs and feet were still more tired than they should have been at the start of the race on Sunday.

• You will run a race the way you trained for it. If you train at a slower pace, you’ll race at that slower pace. Obvious, but worth remembering for the next one.

• Double- or triple-check your race clothes. And have a back-up. It was great that Mike was able to give me my running belt at 14km after I realized within the first 10 strides that I brought the wrong shorts. I have 6 pairs of the same shorts, which I love, but I inadvertently brought an old pair that wasn’t staying up with all the Gu and my phone.

• You don’t need to pack a back-up pair of running shoes.

• Having family/friends to see and or text during a race is very inspirational.

• Having fun and smiling during the race takes you far!