Banque Scotia 21k de Montreal - RunHalf Marathon


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Montreal, Quebec
Canada
4C / 39F
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 58m 35s
Overall Rank = 1356/2092
Age Group = Women 20-24
Age Group Rank = 38/91
Pre-race routine:

Picked up a friend at 8:00am, then headed to the race site. Got parking (flawless parking in a tight spot that no one even wanted to attempt). Picked up the kit (bib 789), then coat check and chip pick up.
Met up with Etienne (etccallhome82), cool to meet someone else from BT!!
Event warmup:

15' Z1 warm up + 4x20" strides + butt kicks to loosen the left knee and right quad. My right quad felt like it needed to be seriously rolled out with a foam roller.
Run
  • 1h 58m 35s
  • 21.1 kms
  • 05m 37s  min/km
Comments:

I'm proud of what I did. I wasn't allowed to race until the 15km mark, and then I ripped it. Passed by people like they were standing still, poor suckers. I chicked SO many dudes, poor guys never saw it coming. I'd say it was an even 50-50 split btwn males and females "chicked" by me. In any case, this was the best executed race I've ever done. By the 15km mark, I was thinking: oh boy, can I really run as fast as I want now?! AMAZING!! That was a nice 15km warm up, let's go!!!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, nutrition was good (Gu chomps: 2 at 4k and 10k mark, 1 at ~13k mark), hydration was good. I wonder what I can do when I've got a "racing" strategy and not a "training" strategy for a 21.1k distance.
Post race
Warm down:

Long strides walking, stretching, talking with a bunch of people:
- One guy told me about his running group in Bangkok, and how it is super cheap (like 10$) but they do such amazing things as a group, and go to such amazing places, and food is paid for too. Insane.
- One guy recently won his 60-65 age group for a 5k in Miami, he was so proud!! We talked Garmins and racing. Nice dude.
- One girl is doing her pre-reqs for medical school, so I talked to her about what I knew about McGill medical school (my sister is in it now). We will probably meet up to play soccer if I stick around at all this summer (although that is unlikely, I think I'm jetting off in 2 weeks). In any case, she wants to get into triathlon so we'll be in touch.
I then ate food, changed, found my jacket (I forgot it at the beginning of the race, but no one stole it. It was exactly where I left it! Amazing!! I guess people just want to steal my LOCKED bike, but not my unlocked jacket) blah blah blah.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

In the last 6k, I had to slow for a small bit from the run-run-running because my right quad was tensing up and giving me problems. Not significantly, but if I were to race a half-marathon soon, I would need to solve that situation ASAP. Foam rolling and massage, I think, will help me.

Event comments:

You're right, Etienne, not enough aid stations!! I didn't mind, but I would have liked more options to get my nutrition in.
I did this race last year (it was my first half-marathon!!). Weather was shittier this year (4C, rainy), but I enjoyed myself 150x more this year.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-09-14 12:00 AM
Running
01:58:35 | 21.1 kms | 05m 37s  min/km
Age Group: 38/91
Overall: 1356/2092
Performance: Good
This was a training run, so I was given specific instructions... 1-5km: aerobic pace (153-158bpm) 6-10km: low end tempo (158-160bpm) 11-15km: high end tempo (<165bpm) 16km-end: GO!! RUN!! PASS PEOPLE!! (Ended up passing upwards of 140 people!!)
Course: Flat, turn-y, no loops but you see the same parts over again a bit, on 2 islands: Ile Saint-Helene and Ile Notre Dame.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4