General Discussion Race Reports! » Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C.
United States
Competitor Group, Inc.
40F / 4C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 24m 4s
Overall Rank = 130/19945
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 18/562
Pre-race routine:

I woke up at 4:30 in Rockville, Maryland and felt pretty dehydrated, but overall pretty excited for the race. A bunch of buddies and I went out in the area for a St. Patty's day bar crawl and got back around a little later than I hoped, but felt rested either way. I downed some water and HEED and ate a power bar to get stuff in my stomach. I got on the metro around 5:30, which was oddly lively and crowded after only 3 stops on the red line. I made it to Federal Triangle at the start, checked my bag, and got some food and got to the bathroom in time for the start of the race.
Event warmup:

The bag check was more of a hike from the start line than I thought. WIth the last name B, I was all the way in the back of the bus line so I did some strides and then a warm up jog to the starting line. I did some stretches and really worked on my calf, which has been giving me some issues lately.
Run
  • 1h 24m 4s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 06m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

My calf felt great for the first 5K. I came into the race already dehydrated, and not taking in water at the first few aid stations was not a good idea. After mile 3, the slight cramping began in my right calf and I knew it was going to be a long day, both physically and mentally. Every step I felt a twinge and I was afraid to fully flex my calf. I made sure to jog through the aid stations to get in 2-3 cups of water or gatorade to keep myself hydrated and stretch out the legs. Running uphill was fine, but the downhills brought with them agonizing pain. I decided to throw my time goal of sub 1:20 out the window and made a new goal of 1:25. I started to walk around mile 10, but a nice young lady gave me a good pep talk. "Come on, man. How many 5Ks have you ran in your life? This will be a breeze! Run with me!". She was my life saver today, and she helped me get the calf pain out of my mind. So whoever you were, thank you! I should've at least asked your name. We came across together at 1:24. Today was probably the hardest I've had to push mentally in a race, and even though I didn't achieve my time goal, I feel like I learned more from this race than any other.
What would you do differently?:

Hydrate and get more rest. I definitely think I went out too fast because I felt good. I need to remember patience during the first half.
Post race
Warm down:

Did some strides, stretched, and walked around and waited for some friends who were running the full marathon. Wasn't a fan of the bands this year.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Improper pacing, poor hydration strategy, not taking care of the nagging calf pain earlier.




Last updated: 2013-03-16 12:00 AM
Running
01:24:04 | 13.1 miles | 06m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 18/562
Overall: 130/19945
Performance:
6:19, 5:55, 6:04, 6:06, 6:20, 6:06, 6:59, 6:27, 6:27, 6:38, 6:28, 6:30, 6:09
Course: The course was mostly flat with only one major climb. There were a couple small rollers, but nothing major.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

{postbutton}
2013-03-16 8:08 PM

User image

Member
71
2525
Bel Air
Subject: Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon Rss Feed