Lessons from my first full Marathon:

In regards to training:
- Stay on track.  Having vein surgery mid training and having a 2 week running restriction interrupted training that was already not on track as much as I would like due to nasty winter weather.

- Strength Train!  Find the time, seriously.  I did not work on training my hips as much as I had planned and I think I am lacking in speed because of it.

For the 50k training I opted to have the surgery just before starting, causing me to be a little late to start but I am hoping it will be better than disrupting mid training.

For race day:
-  Take advantage of the bag drop to have a spare change of clothes available mid race.  I didn't and the day had variable temps depending on if the sun was out or if you were passing the lake.  I could easily go from too warm to too cold in a span of miles, and found my wet clothes chaffing in the second loop.  I really wish I had a dry sports bra to change into.

- Make sure I am taking in enough salt when I am sweating a lot.  Lots of calf cramping miles 15 - 18 were alleviated by taking in potatoes  dipped in salt at the next 3 rest stops, however by then I had to do a lot more walking than I had planned on.

-  If your shoe feels loose and ankle unsteady then stop to retie right away, I thought it could wait until the next rest area and I didn't want to lose my rhythm, however having my ankle too wobbly on rough trail started the whole slide into calf cramping.

Good things:
I did slow down when I needed to, and didn't push  into stupid levels of injury.
I didn't stop even when my body was crying for me to and I was certain I was the last one on the trail.
I was able to finish strong, sprinting with a smile after one of the roughest trails in Michigan!
I discovered new levels of endurance..which of course inspires me to see if I can keep pushing farther.