Renaissance 1/2 Marathon

I ran (more or less) in the Renaissance 1/2 Marathon in Ridgeland Mississippi Saturday and...ta dah...FINISHED!  And, wonder of wonders, wasn't last! For me, that's a good thing.  It took me a lot longer than I would have liked, but I had to stop and go to the bathroom a couple of times.  (note to self: Do NOT eat those gel things during the race. They're lethal.)  I'm going to stick with Zone bars and jelly beans for refueling.  They don't seem to have the same affect on me.   The course was lovely, not too hilly; the people on the sidelines supporting us were great, I stayed hydrated, my legs didn't cramp afterwards (drank Gatorade and ate a banana after the race), and I survived. Thanks for your advice and support, fellow runners.  Now, on to Chicago! Marcia

Way To Go Marcia! I'm not even one little bit surprised you finished and didn't come in last!  It often happens that we don't do some of these races as fast as we would like, but there's usually something that happens that we don't foresee. Oh well, we learn something from every race, and I hope the next one is easier on you!  Go Chicago! Linn

Good for you.  It sounds as if you had a great experience.  It sounds as if everything went pertty well.  I still have a hard time figuring out what works and what doesn't as far as fuel goes.  Today on my training run, I used the cliff shot blocks.  I think they were pertty good. What race in Chicago?

The Chicago Marathon on October 12.  The Bank of America Chicago Marathon, I think.   Marcia

Congratulations! note to self: avoid icky gel things!  way to go!

I have heard legends of those gel thingys though I've never seen one in real life.  I will be avoiding those things like the plague!  Thanks for the race report!

Congrats on your first half!

I've tried pretty much everything in regards to race nutrition at this point and the only thing that's been working for me consistantly is peanut butter.  Gel packs are trouble for me and I've had very limited success with Clif Shot Bloks.  

Best of luck in Chicago!

Chad

I will look into the Clif Shot Bloks and work on the peanut butter thing, thanks everybody.

Congrats on a good race. You have to find what works for you. I ate mostly sports jelly beans on my last marathon and that worked best for me.. After watching The Marathon Movie I want to do Chicago!!! Maybe next year??