Today I had the honor and pleasure of joining 1008 other runners in my first ever marathon. I got to the start line at 5:30 am and spent some time trying to warm up haha (I actually ran with a jacket until mile 9). I started paying attention to what the pacers were saying and soon chose to follow Mike from @beastpacing who was pacing the 3:52 pack. (Let me say, exactly what I would choose in a pacer. Amazingly talented!) Race started at 6:30 am with 3 waves. I soon fell into step with the pacer at the front of a pack of 30. Fuel at mile 3 with Honeystinger gummies. I stopped for a restroom break at mile 6 and the line was long. I spent 2 miles catching up to the pace group again. Once I did I ate a chocolate outrage GU. Highest heart rate during this time with both miles in the low 7:00s. At mile 12 I finally felt like I could fuel again (nauseous to the max until this point). Soon after mile 14 I had a sudden bout of almost throwing up after I grabbed a Nuun drink instead of water at an aid station. Dropped to the back of the pack for .5 of a mile to catch my breath. I felt a slight tightness in my left hip around mile 15 which left me thinking I was going to be in trouble. Tried to fuel again finally with honey stinger chews, never even finished them. Mile 20 my left hamstring siezed suddenly and I was almost instantly walking. Over the next 3 miles I ran 200 ft or so before my hamstrings locked. By mile 23 my lack of fuel caught up with me and I did not have the energy to fight the cramping for longer than 100 ft at a time every .3 of a mile. Mile 25 to finish I focused on relaxing and conserving energy for the finish. I also took water at every single aid station. Finish with a time of 4:22:15 😁 my average heart rate was 145. Thank you for reading my first marathon recap and if you have any questions let me know! #runislife #marathon #recap #honeystinger #gu #nuunhydration #beastpacing #venturamarathon #teamrun4prs #ididit