Carlsbad Marathon - RunMarathon


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Carlsbad, California
United States
inmotionevents
Sunny
 		Total Time = 4h 19m 17s
Overall Rank = 570/1194
Age Group = F30-34
Age Group Rank = 35/96
Pre-race routine:

Eat banana w/peanut butter (yum!) and some cereal, drink coffee, then wake up.
Event warmup:

It was a small group for the marathon, and the 1/2 started 1.5 hrs later, so there was not too much of a crowd which was nice. Lots of bathrooms at the start.

No real warm-up....I put myself between the 4 and 4.5hr pace groups (apparently a smart move), and we were off!
Run
  • 4h 19m 17s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 54s  min/mile
Comments:

Really good run overall. I waved at as many spectators as I could to make them cheer louder, which helps me run faster :)

Saw my bunny at about mile 2 (obviously feeling good then!), and again at about mile 24. I was actually able to run backward for a few steps for him to get a picture....but I knew I couldn't let my feet stop!

So my feet started hurting a lot at about mile 20-21. The lateral part of both feet, but I just kept it up, adrenaline made it go away for the last mile or so.

Found a fellow marathoner for the last 2 or so miles, recongized him from the start, and we pulled each other in. That was awesome. He had caught up to me, and I told him I was going to try to keep up, then he had to push to keep up with me on the last downhill. I don't think I would have broken 4:20 if it wasn't for him. Thanks Chris!!!

Really couldn't have asked for a better first marathon, and I'm super happy with my performance!
What would you do differently?:

Not much, this was my first marathon, and my time was pretty much exactly what I expected if I didn't have issues during the race. No problems with cramping or GI issues, and apparently I didn't hit the wall (I don't know what it feels like, but I'm pretty sure I didn't).
Post race
Warm down:

Hobble around with huge bag of kettle corn.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My feet. They hurt the last 5 miles.

Cardiovascularly, I could have pushed harder (see HR data), but my legs were tired.

Event comments:

Only a few things not so great:

1. they had very few bathrooms along the way...almost none. Tons at the start/finish but a few more from miles 13-18 would have been nice.

2. Joining the 1/2 marathoners. When we re-joined them at mile 20, we were with some of the not-so-speedy runners, and there were a lot of them. For a while, we were separated by cones, but then joined with them, and had to pass and weave through a lot of the walkers. Not so easy at mile 23 through an aid station!

Good things: Awesome spectators! Tons of aid stations (although one didn't have water...???) They had our names on our bibs, and spectators would often cheer specifically for you, it was great :)




Last updated: 2009-09-21 12:00 AM
Running
04:19:17 | 26.2 miles | 09m 54s  min/mile
Age Group: 35/96
Overall: 570/1194
Performance: Good
15 Km: 1:31:57 Pace: 9:52 22 Km: 2:12:18 Pace: 9:48 18.7 Mi: 3:02:29 Pace: 9:46 19.6 Mile: 3:12:47 Pace: 9:51 26.2 mile: 4:19:17 Pace: 9:54 HR avg: 154 HR max: 168
Course: Rolling hills along the ocean, a few miles inland with one long-ish hill. I expected the hill to be harder for some reason, but it wasn't bad at at all. I passed a ton of people on the downhill, cause I can and it doesn't bother my legs. Freaking beautiful day....rain was all gone by saturday and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
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