Big Bear Lake Marathon

In a nutshell
Holy Snikes! That did not go very well. The course time limit was 6hrs, I used 5:53:55.

Pre-race
The best part of the race was driving up to Big Bear Lake. I left the house at around 4:15 and got there around 6am. It was fun taking those corners in the Mini Cooper. It was kind of chilly when I went to pick up my race packet, but that changed really quickly as the sun came out and warmed everything up. I waited in the car listening to my tunes on my iPod. It was nice and toasty already when I left the car to head for the starting line.

First half
Here's a video of the start: link. It's not too hard to spot me! I went out running as comfortably as I could. There was a big downhill at mile 2 followed by a bit of a climb at mile 4, but I was still feeling ok. But by mile 6 I had to start taking walk breaks just to catch my breath. I knew I could've pressed through it, but mentally I just wasn't there. The course kept rolling up and down. I was taking 1 Endurolyte salt cap every hour along with the shotbloks that I normally take. I just wanted to finish this marathon without any trouble. It took me longer to get to the halfway mark than I had planned, but everything was still feeling manageable. I got to see Vixen from RWOL twice as she was close to finishing her half and I was turning around for my second half.
1: 9:39
2: 8:44
3: 9:37
4: 10:57
5: 9:37
6: 10:20
7: 10:27
8: 10:54
9: 11:16
10: 11:33
11: 11:26
12: 12:09
13: 11:30
13.1: 2:21:16

Second half
I took my last salt cap around mile 15, but apparently I wasn't replacing the electrolytes fast enough because the legs were beginning to cramp at every hill that I climbed. After about mile 19, I kept cramping when I tried to run or jog. At this point, I was out of salt caps and my brain was fried, so I just called it a day and walked the rest of the way. This was pretty much déjà vu from Montaña de Oro. I was just trying my best not to have both legs lock up on me like last time. Tony from Pasadena caught up to me around mile 22 and decided to walk with me. He could've ran it in but he decided to call it a day as well. On the very last corner, I finally convinced him to run it in and that I would see him at the finish line. That turned out to be a lie since I could barely force a jog and went straight for a chair as I hobbled across the finish line. The ladies from the medical tent came by and treated me for my leg cramps. I think I've figured out the cramps, but man I just ran out of salt caps since I clearly underestimated the heat, elevation, and the time that it would take for me to finish. I should just carry a whole bottle with me next time until I figure out how many I need to prevent the cramps.
14-15: 27:11
16: 16:04
17-18: 30:08
19: 15:57
20: 17:12
21: 18:23
22: 17:35
23: 17:51
24: 16:48
25: 17:41
26: 17:19
26.2: 3:25
2nd half: 3:32:38

Finish: 5:53:55

Post race thoughts
I love the medal and the shirt. I really had to work hard for them. I must say that the aid stations were fantastic! The volunteers wore vests that said what they're handing out, so there was no guesswork in what they were offering. Anyways I need to train harder. Guts and determination is not getting me very far anymore. My fitness is barely good enough for a half marathon right now. I should not have been messing around with a marathon at elevation on a sunny day.