Locomotive Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Kennesaw, Georgia
United States
Pacesetter's PR
52F / 11C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 50m 56s
Overall Rank = 63/257
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 3/13
Pre-race routine:

Woke up too early for a Sunday and got ready to head out for the race. Ate oatmeal on the way to the race and sipped on some Chai Tea. Picked up my packet, used the restroom, and parked about 200 ft from the start/finish (very cool).
Event warmup:

Ran 1 mile for warm-up, as per my training plan. Then stood around for another 15-20 minutes before the start. My hamstring was still bothering me on the warm-up, so I decided I'd just run marathon pace for the race and see how that worked out.
Run
  • 1h 50m 56s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

Started out at the back of the pack, but I jumped up on the sidewalk and tried to hit a comfortable pace. In the first mile I noticed my pace was faster than I planned, but I felt good - comfortable. I decided to keep that pace for a bit longer and test how I felt. At about 4 miles I decided I was going to try to finish out the race and attempt a PR. I kept focusing on relaxing and checking my form to make sure I wasn't wasting energy. I used my normal pacing - open up on the downhills and ease up to keep my effort under control on the uphills. There was a long uphill around halfway and right before the finish that was tough and really drained me the second time, but I tried to make up time when I could. I admit I wanted to walk on that last uphill, but I kept pushing and gave it all I had. I was a little disappointed to see I was over the 1:50 mark, but very happy with my pacing and effort on this race. What a nice surprise this race was, based on yesterday's mess of a run! :)

Nutrition - water (fuelbelt) and 2 Roctane GUs.

Overall - 63/257
Women - 8/257
AG - 3/13
What would you do differently?:

I think this was close to a perfect race for me today based on my current abilities, marathon training, and the day.
Post race
Warm down:

Found Greg and he volunteered to run with me for my cooldown, which was very welcome! Nice easy run to finish out today's run.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Although I think my lack of training this week probably ended up having the effect of a taper, my legs are still pretty tired! I would like to see what I could do with a real taper and fresh legs.

Event comments:

Great first year race! For only $35, this race included a long-sleeve technical shirt and medal. Easy parking right at the start/finish and easy packet pickup. Next year they should add an aid station or two (based on others' comments - I had a fuelbelt) and a port-a-potty on the course. Otherwise - great race!




Last updated: 2009-07-22 12:00 AM
Running
01:50:56 | 13.1 miles | 08m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/13
Overall: 13/257
Performance: Good
1 - 08m 13s; 2 - 08m 27s; 3 - 08m 24s; 4 - 08m 30s; 5 - 08m 23s; 6 - 08m 25s; 7 - 08m 38s; 8 - 08m 19s; 9 - 08m 34s; 10 - 08m 36s; 11 - 08m 26s; 12 - 08m 36s; 13 - 08m 30s; .02 - 00m 51s
Course: Rolling two loop course through the streets around Cobb Place in Kennesaw
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4