Boston post race report, very abbreviated

So I ran the race, had a great time, and wasn't too affected by the tradegy that unfolded.  I don't really want to talk about that since it's well covered by other sources.  All I can say is I heard 2 booms, and later a 3rd, which a police officer said was a controlled explosion of another device they found.  We should pray for all those involved. 

As for pacing, I ended up running just over 3:01, so a bit slower than my goal time.  Everyone who said don't go out too fast was right, but I didn't listen.  I of course don't really know what would have happened had I run 10s/mile slower for the first 4 miles, I may have just finished 40s slower. My best guess is that I would have been a bit faster on the last few miles, but it's hard to say.  Anyway, at the end the little muscle above the knee on the quad was pretty tired, and the experts claim running downhill too fast at the start will trash your quads.  I felt pretty good the whole time, and I really didn't fall apart until the last mile or so when I turned in a 7:30 mile in contrast to the sub or low 7's I'd been seeing the rest of the day.  I tried to use the HRM to control pace, but it quit on me well before the day was done.  Thanks Garmin!

As for nutrition, I had a bagel, banana  and yogurt for breakfast.  I followed the above pre race hydration plan.  However 5 minutes before the gun was to go off, I had a gel and a few oz of water.  Critical to a comfortable start was a pre race bathroom visit, only minutes before the gun.  I skipped the first aid station, and drank at nearly every other however.  I skipped a few when my belly felt bad, and instead of drinking dumped the water on my head.  I also only ate 9 honey packets, instead of the 18 my time would have predicted.  Maybe more honey would have helped but I was trying to listen to my stomach.  I also had 3 endurolytes.  The package said 100mg/tab in contrast to the 40 mg listed on the website.  For the most part I avoided any GI issues, so that was good.  Who knows what would've happened with a different plan, perhaps the final mile would have been 50s faster.  

I would like to learn more about the effects of dumping the water on your head.  On the one hand, it could be a way to achieve evaporative cooling without having to pass the liquid through your stomach, although it clearly won't help you metabolize your fuel or increase your blood volume.  On the other hand, it could send a wrong signal to your body causing it to cease it's natural heat management techniques, leading to a worse outcome overall.  This is completely speculative, and I'd love to know if there exist a set of conditions under which such an idea would describe reality.  

Hope this helps someone thinking about marathon nutrition and pacing.