I went out fast and crashed. My first 10K was in about 34:00, a PR. Around 4 miles, my right leg started to burn with each step -- a sign of low fuel. Around 5 or 6, both legs started hurting. I was determined to hang on with the guy I was tailing untill at least half-way through. Shortly after I passed then start of the 10K, I lost contact. Both legs were hurting as bad as they did in the last mile or two of Utah Valley. I essentially hit the marathon wall, running my last 10K at 6:04 pace. My time was 1:15:27, not as bad as it could have been. I think that I would have run 30-40 seconds faster had I taken in some Powerade and been a little mentally tougher. I had somewhat of a mental breakdown in the last 10K, but my crash was mostly physical. In the Utah Valley half, I hadn't taken in any fuel because I hadn't needed to. I naively assumed the same would be true for all half marathons. My fuel was so low that I got confused at several turns in the course and was yelled at by the traffic-directing volunteers. Needless to say, I needed fuel. This race was a learning experience for me and my Dad.
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