This was my 8th marathon and training had gone pretty well for a mild winter. Race day was hot though, like 26 degrees celsius and the field had 57,000 runners. Being hot and cramped with water stops only every 5km, made for a difficult second half. There was no electrolyte sport drink until mile 19, and that was the ONLY one. At the finish, my heart rate just simply would not return to resting rate for over 2 hours and I kept feeling the need to pass out. Luckily, after downing two full powerades my friend brought me back at my airbnb, I was able to get my resting HR down. That was definitely poor planning on the race management. The view though is something that can't be compared to any other race in the world. Where else can you see the eiffel tower, louvre, castles, and parks in one race. That made my crappy finish all worth it.