Detroit Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Detroit, Michigan
United States
Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank
32F / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 54m 7s
Overall Rank = 1291/8392
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 31/510
Pre-race routine:

ate 2 slices of toast with peanut butter,banana, 1 cup of coffee and water...no yogurt with fruit though.
Event warmup:

walked from the car to Cobo...did a bit of light stretching and walked to Fort and 2nd for the start!
Run
  • 1h 54m 7s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

Well, I was to run this race with the Potter Boys...Dave pacing his dad to Boston Qualify and me to get under the two hour goal he convinced me to set. I did a great job with my pacer, it's just that it was Dave Sr., not Jr.! The boys were late arriving (I was on time...total role reversal!) and as we were heading to our corral, Dave Sr. and I got seperated from Ranger. I didn't see him again till he crossed the finish line! Dave Sr. and I just figured he'd catch up to us...We heard him yell to us as we approached the bridge, but he thought we were behind him when actually we were in front...Ranger waited for like 10 or 11 minutes total during the race for us, and still beat his Dad's time in the end! But I had an awesome pacer in Dave Sr.!!! It was so nice to race this with him! He kept me trucking right along, just like on Hines Drive last month! I had to catch up to him after the aide station at about mile 4.5 and that was a lot of work to do!!! After I caught him, we ran the whole thing together! Everything felt pretty good throughout the whole race...the glutes were sore from chasing Dave Sr. and the bridge, and my calf just below my left knee bothered me a bit the last few miles, but nothing that would slow me down! I am really happy with this time!
What would you do differently?:

I have never "raced" a run before, only tri's so this was a different experience for me. I like having a pacer...I think that works well for me. I didn't listen to my ipod at all...should have left it at home, and I should have drunk at the first aid station I think or brought a disposable water bottle to keep drinking closer to the race...I basically stopped fluids over an hour from the start.
Post race
Warm down:

got my medal, my shiny blanket and asked a nice volunteer to start my banana for me...my legs were jumbly and I got frozen after a few minutes with the wet clothes and chilly air temps. I was shaking for a while till I found a warm spot in the sun and put on some more layers. Joanne was the best sherpa ever! I did some stretching about 20 minutes or so after finishing and took my recovery drink within 30 minutes of finish too.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not really knowing how to pace/race a road race. It worked out really well with Dave Sr.( our pacer did a crappy job unfortunately) and having never done the distance before in a large race setting. Overall though, I am very happy with my performance!

Event comments:

It would have gotten a 5 if I'd gotten to run with BOTH the Potter boys! \
:-)

I will be doing this race again...lots of BT'rs and teammates were there, I saw Cheryl and Eric, Kellie and Kathleen out on the course which was awesome and really nice, and my Jogo went with to support me and be my sherpa! All very good things!!! I feel like I am becoming a runner! Sweet!




Last updated: 2009-08-07 12:00 AM
Running
01:54:07 | 13.1 miles | 08m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 31/510
Overall: 1291/8392
Performance: Good
Course: The course is mostly flat, but you do cross the Ambassador Bridge in miles 2 to 3 (wow...gorgeous, but ouch!) and run through the tunnel from Windsor to Detroit...another little hill to deal with, but very cool!
Keeping cool Good 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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4