I wore compression socks for the first time, but opted to only go with one pair of running pants which may have resulted in me feeling distracted as I felt myself freezing between hip and knee.
(Side note: I recently purchased a pair of Zoot Ultra Compression socks from an Active.com GearUp sale. I strongly recommend becoming an Active.com Advantage member to get 15% off at the GearUp store. Highly recommend the socks and the membership!)
I think next time, I'll wear the comp socks plus a thicker pair of running tights since even though the pairs I have are lined with fleece or something on the inside, it just doesn't work for this weather.
And then there was nutrition. Did I mention that this might have been my worst race experience ever? In a last minute decision at bag check, I started searching for Chapstick to put into my running belt, and I have no idea how I missed it, but my trusty nutrition did not make it back into my belt pocket. By mile 5, I was really feeling it, and by mile 7 I was considering picking up someone's unfinished Gu pack (rest assured, I did not decide to test my immune system with that but it definitely crossed my mind when I passed a single, lonely Clif Block. :)
Final time: 1 hour, 45 minutes and 52 seconds, yielding a 10:35/mile pace. My ankle has been acting up, as well as my back and my knees so I am taking it easy the rest of the day. No matter what, no matter how I felt like I was running on fumes, today proved to me that I can really run my own race and my own pace and feel like a champion!!!
