Going into the race, I wasn’t too confident in my training, or lack thereof. I had been running somewhat consistently since February, but my miles hadn’t been high.

When it looked like fall races were going to happen this year, I decided to sign up for last month’s Detroit Marathon. After severe shin splints in March and a nagging hip pain in July, I had to drop down to the half, and my training wasn’t where I wanted it to be.

Read about my experience running my first marathon, including my mistakes on fueling and pacing, and what I learned from them.