Little Rock Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I ran with Mercedes (Merk). We'd been training to do a 3:2 run/walk ratio. The plan was to maintain an average of an 11min pace and beat 2:30. Our splits were very even, we accomplished our goals, and I finished with my final splits being slightly faster than my initial splits. I peeked out on energy and hit the wall just as I was pulling into the finish.

Here is the link to my split data.
http://blava.org/running/2008%20%20Little%20Rock%20Marathon

There was plenty of fluid support and I made sure to drink Gatorade at each stop. I took gels at roughly 3,6, and 10 miles. My thoughts on that were to take them preventively, so I could maintain a constant energy level. I also took one salt pill (thanks Mercedes) when I was starting to feel the fluid sticking around in my stomach.

Adhere to my training a little bit better so I can do my next ½ Marathon at a 4:1 ratio.

Damnit I wanted my free Beer!! Stupid Sunday liquor laws prevented them from giving those before noon. :(

Drank a glass of water and a glass of Gatorade and ate a banana.

Walked around for about 15 minutes trying to cool down.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

nothing. I think I did very well.

Event comments:

First of all I must say that I really thought this was a well done race. It was my first half, so keep in mind that I don't have anything to compare it to.

Expo
I thought that the Expo was pretty lame. It was my first racing event with an Expo, but I have attended many professional events that do have Expos associated with them. I really feel that this was much less than I was expecting.

Volunteering
I volunteered to work the Expo on Saturday at the 13:00-17:00 shift. I was assigned to hand out timing chips. I feel that this was a really good and fun experience. I was glad to be able to contribute something, and it was kind of neat recognizing people during the race that I had handed out chips to. However, there was no one “in charge”. I just got sent to my station, someone left, and was left to fend for myself on figuring out stuff such as person X didn’t have a chip packet. Shockingly enough even though the Expo was open till 18:00 there weren’t any volunteers scheduled to work the last hour. (oops!) I now realize standing for four hours the day before the race probably wasn’t a great idea, when I volunteer again I’ll be sure to not do it the day before the race.

Race
The only real complaint I had was the walkers for the first 3-4 miles. They really need to be giving some instructions on course etiquette (or started after the runners) i.e. Don't walk six abreast, stick to one side or the other. It was ridiculous that runners were having to go up on the sidewalks to get around them. I don't begrudge them the right to participate, but they need to learn some manners.