Regina Police Service Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Regina, Saskatchewan
Canada
Regina Police Service
10C / 50F
Sunny
 		Total Time = 2h 03m 9s
Overall Rank = 205/441
Age Group = M40-49
Age Group Rank = 41/61
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 6:30. A little groggy.
Had a hardboiled egg and rye/nutella/Almond butter/Saskatoon Berry jam and coffee as per usual.
Doddled around the house. Made coffee in a thermos for sleeping First Wife, got dressed and drove to race site.
Main street was closed AGAIN! so had to double back and find other entrance - this happens every year, but I had lots of time.
Event warmup:

Did machs, ran about one K, slowly. Bathroom trip, a little chatting. One pull of my Hammer Gel that I had in flask. Start.
Run
  • 2h 03m 9s
  • 21.1 kms
  • 05m 50s  min/km
Comments:

Set my watch for a 5:30 pace and stuck to that for about 10k and then started to fade. Had water at every aid station, but never stopped, except after 14k. Walked briefly there, then again four times. By that time my average pace was at just under 6. And I was having trouble with my leg flexibility. I should have had some Tylenol to take.
Had a sip of gel from the flask every half hour or so, maybe had a total of 2.5 gels.
Had a couple of good bursts of constant speed, but couldn't sustain them. At 19k mark I looked at my Garmin and saw that it was 1:51...Crap! I knew the goal of under two was gone.
Made the decision there and then to let it all out and ramp up the speed.
If you look at the pace graph: http://connect.garmin.com/page/activity/activity.faces;jsessionid=B...
You will see that at the 20k mark my speed starts to really increase:
4:33 at 20.84 k...at the finish line I was going 3:07min/k. I passed scads of people and finished strong.
It wasn't the race I wanted to have, but I still drew out some strengths and had a great day.
What would you do differently?:

Wore tech undershirt and long sleeve and tights and gloves. Too hot. I ditched the gloves, but probably should have had shorts.
I am torn on the subject of speed. If I wanted to go faster, I should have done more speed work.
In the back of my mind, I'm still training for the Marathon in a few weeks, so this result is pretty good.

Post race
Warm down:

1k run to loosen up.
Eat greasy, starchy food, lots of coffee and chat with friends.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

overheating. Lack of speed work.
Distance was a cinch. It was the pace I picked.

Event comments:

MarkZ said it best. If every race was a PB, then PBs wouldn't have the same meaning.
Wise words.
I learned more about myself during this race. This is the first long race I ever did many years ago and it continues to teach me things.
This was a good race to help put my athleticism and my commitment to things beyond multisport into perspective.

Here's the link for the Garmin data and course description:
http://connect.garmin.com/page/activity/activity.faces;jsessionid=B...


Profile Album


Last updated: 2010-04-13 12:00 AM
Running
02:03:09 | 21.1 kms | 05m 50s  min/km
Age Group: 41/61
Overall: 205/441
Performance: Good
Spiked my HR during the warm-up, so it stayed pretty regular during the majority of the run.
Course: Race was the usual course - around Wascana Park and University - with two laps of the big lake and University. Lots of grit still on the road, not a lot of traffic, so I used the whole road, picking a line around curves like I would on a bike. Course is pretty flat, but has a couple of "hills" on the last 3 k that are a bit of a hassle.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4