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== My Race ==
I started off too fast and running each lap with no walking breaks[[Walking Breaks]], but that was intentional. I know that I need to burn off some of the initial enthusiasm before settling into a routine. After these first few laps of youthful exuberance, I used the pattern of walking from the aid station to the end of the dam, which takes about ~2 minutes. That gave me opportunity to eat and drink on each lap, while giving my legs a chance to bounce back. I managed to hold that pattern for most of the rest of the race and it worked well.
The day passed uneventfully, cranking away steady miles, listening to some tunes and trying to stay relaxed. I had one blister form on my heel, which got bad, then burst of its own accord, so I ignored it. My feet did swell up, which caused pressure on the top of the foot, even though I kept loosening my shoe laces. There was a lot of pain from the top of my feet, which I convinced myself was 'just' crushed tendons and not stress fractures (turns out I was right). I'd modified my shoes a few weeks before the race, cutting off the heel so it is the same height as the forefoot. This modification worked well in my training runs, but I'd not gone this kind of distance in these 'new' shoes before. It all worked well, but made the pain in the feet a little more worrying.