Odds and ends from my race weekend

I'm still writing my review of Hanson's marathon method, but I did want to tie up some loose ends from my marathon weekend.

What a sky! 

• My cold: I think I actually beat it. It was better on Saturday night and I didn't even think about it on Sunday, except a mild sore throat. Hooray!
• Nutrition: I should have eaten more the day before the race, but oh well. It's hard to travel and race. And I actually ended up doing just four gels - my usual amount - during the race. I was aiming for five per the Hanson's calorie calculator, but once I unpacked and saw how many gels I brought home with me, I realized that I only ate four. I must have gotten off schedule when the water-stop frequency increased later in the race. So I can't report on that aspect of Hanson's.

They call this sky color "Medtronic blue"

• Shoes: My shoes hit 400 miles at the end of the race. They felt fine, though. I tried to change to a new pair the week of the race, but they felt oddly tight and I didn't want to risk it. I ran in my Saucony Kinvaras. I am still wearing the New Balance Zante, but I don't think I will buy another pair - they allow too much foot movement. 
• My recovery: I usually try to do something active the night of the race or the next day to prevent terrible stiffness, but I dropped the ball on that one. I haven't done any running yet - all I've done is some hip PT. But it's gorgeous weather so I hope my quads are up to running this weekend! 
• Injuries: None, knock on wood. Post-race I had one blood blister and a bloody toe, and my hips were quite stiff, but I feel much better now. I had some below-the-knee tendonitis before the race that I hope goes away completely with rest. 
• Soreness: I am more sore after this race than any I've ever run. I think the fact that the more difficult part of the race is late, run on tired legs, damages your muscles a little more. This is the first time I have struggled to go down stairs post-race. I'm so glad I didn't end up running to catch any flights on the way home!
• Video: Want to see bad running form? Watch my finish here! Please ignore the woman finishing right in front of me, whom I did not catch. 
• Live tracker: It didn't work! Lisa tried to use it to plan her spectating, and got one text at mile 18; David also got a text at 18, then got a text saying I had finished in 3 hours and 18 minutes. But it was only 11:13 when he got the text, so he knew that was wrong since the race started at 11! 
• Stomach: Oh, man. My stomach was a mess this race. It hurt during the race, but the cramping afterward was the real problem. I was miserable! I did more Powerade than usual, so that could be the culprit, but I also had much less practice using fuel since my long runs capped at 16 miles.