Metro Health Grand Rapids marathon - RunMarathon


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Grand Rapids, Michigan
United States
32F / 0C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 3h 48m 34s
Overall Rank = 526/1555
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 83/149
Pre-race routine:

Up before alarm at 5:30, Cream of wheat, water, bagel with PB

Drove to GR and had a PowerBar 1 hours before and H2O all along
Event warmup:

Jogged around the parking lot. Temp was 30, but going up to 44 by race end.
Run
  • 3h 48m 34s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

Went out waaaay too fast. I heard all of the advice, and I planned to go out at 8:35 or so, but it too me 12 miles to get to that pace, and by then I had gone too fast for too long to keep it going.

My left Hammy and calf seized right up at 21.5 or so. I had to stop and stretch and hobble for 1/2 mile to get "right" again. I mostly shuffled in for the last 4 miles walking every 5-7 minutes.

The best moment of the race was when I saw my family with about 150M to go. My 5 year-old son grabbed my hand and ran it with me. He actuall pushed my pace and got me home.

I am happy for my first, but I think had I run smarter, I could be 3-5 minutes faster overall.
What would you do differently?:

Go out slower. DO not get cought up in the moment, and how good I felt early and remember how much pain there is for the last 5 miles. Definitley need to do hills early in the season and weights in the off season. My legs are my limiter. My heart and lungs could go forever, but I am too weak right now in my legs.
Post race
Warm down:

Walking. Beer. Grub.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Weak legs, and I seemed to abandon my race plan right from the get go. By the time I slowed down it was to late.

Event comments:

Will always be my first and for now my Marathon PR! Will never forget it and I am certain that I will be back many times in the future.




Last updated: 2009-04-20 12:00 AM
Running
03:48:34 | 26.2 miles | 08m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 83/149
Overall: 526/1555
Performance: Average
8:01, 7:46, 8:06, 8:11, 8:10, 8:17, 8:17, 8:17, 8:20, 8:12, 8:27, 8:35, 8:36, 8:28, 8:29, 8:54, 8:38, 8:40, 8:48, 8:58, 9:10, 9:55, 8:58, 9:16, 9:46, 9:27, 8:53
Course: Mostly Flat, a few loops around parks.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5