. Overall the marathon was very well managed and there were plenty of water stops and other refreshments (food). The volunteers were all AWESOME! My only complaint was the road and trail conditions were pretty bad. There were large cracks and pot holes throughout the road course that I constantly needed to avoid to keep from hurting my feet or twisting my ankles. The trail was some gravel and some gravel embedded asphalt. The asphalt had worn away so that there was large pieces of gravel rocks sticking up that did not give at all and bruised the heck out of the bottom of my feet. In case you haven't read my other posts, I wear a minimalist shoe called Vibram Five Fingers
. Several other runners I talked to commented about this and they were wearing regular shoes so it must have been pretty bad. I don't think I will run in Minneapolis again unless these issues are addressed. It isn't worth it.I didn't run a sub-4 hour but overall when I was done I wasn't too sore. I think a combination of it being hotter than I expected and only having three weeks in-between marathons took its toll. I was pretty wiped toward the end (at about 22 miles) and had dipped below the pace I needed for a sub 4 hour so I took it easy the rest of the way with some walking.
*One tip I did learn, don't drink Muscle Milk
after a marathon. It sat in my stomach like a big bag of chalk. I like it for a protein supplement and I would recommend it any other time but not right after a marathon.
(
) I had crippling knee pain (
) that kept my time down to about 5 1/2 hours. This run still went very well. I was hoping to break 4 hours however 40mph gusts and sustained winds of 20mph-25mph had other ideas. My final time was 04:02:59.
was well planned and there were plenty of aid stations with water, 
and other refreshments to keep us going. One little mistake in the course though sent all runners an additional 800 feet so times were corrected for the planned mileage. Coming through the tunnel and out into 
was AWESOME! I'm sure it'll be one of the best marathons I ever do. One reason I planned to do this one this year was to complete it the same year as the Packers won the Super Bowl. To honor the Packers the marathon medal has the marathon emblem in football leather on one side.
for June 5th, 2011 in Minneapolis just three weeks after. The weather report says temperatures from the 60s to upper 70s and no winds. Maybe a sub 4 hour marathon is in my future.
I hit the weight pretty hard and ate extra calories. I have lost no weight in fact I gained a couple pounds and kept about the same percent 
. Starting next week it is all about cutting the body fat. Summer body here I come.