Atlanta Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Atlanta, Georgia
United States
Atlanta Track Club
40F / 4C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 44m 4s
Overall Rank = 1019/8578
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 104/
Pre-race routine:

Quick breakfast, then headed out w/ Bethany without really knowing exactly where we were going...won't let that happen again. For some reason was thinking the best Marta stop would be off of 400 north of the perimeter. Was wrong. After driving around much longer than usual stopped at Marta in Sandy Springs. It took us forever to get to the race start.
Event warmup:

Bethany and I actually ran from the Marta station about 1/2 mile to the race start. We were about 5 or 6 minutes late for the start so we didn't get a proper warm up, but were able to hit the porta potties and drop off our checked bags quickly.
Run
  • 1h 44m 4s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

Going into this race I really just wanted to execute a good race plan that would allow a PR, but save my legs for the Kiawah Island 1/2 Marathon in a couple of weeks. My goal was to stick to an 8:00/mile pace until about mile 9 and then evaluate whether or not I could push the tempo. These were my mile splits according to my Garmin.

Mile:

1- 7:59
2- 8:07
3- 7:53
4- 8:01
5- 8:01
6- 7:59
7- 7:46
8- 8:34
9- 8:00

At this point I still felt great and so I decided to pick up the pace.

10- 7:38
11- 7:36
12- 7:37
13- 6:50

I had a really strong finishing kick because I thought the end of the race would be the bridge where the Olympic rings were, but it was probably another 2/10ths of a mile! Between my bobbing and weaving and being unable to run tangents, my Garmin showed a total distance of 13.34 miles.

Last .34 miles in 1:59 (5:50 pace!).

Gotta thank TNRs this year for helping me to hardly notice the hills on this course. Earlier in the year I probably would have had to walk them!

What would you do differently?:

Nothing, executed my plan really well and saved my legs for Kiawah.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around for a while after the race and met up w/ a few other ATCers and a good college friend and his wife. Stretched and didn't feel too horrible.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'm running at about 10 pounds over my ideal racing weight right now.

Event comments:

This race, and hopefully Kiawah in 2 weeks, really have/will validate the hard work I've put in this year. I've still only run this distance in races or training 10 or 15 times total, so I feel like I've got a lot of potential to improve. I was happy to knock about 6 minutes off my only other open 1/2 marathon which was in March of this year. Next up is an attempt to go under 1:40!




Last updated: 2009-10-03 12:00 AM
Running
01:44:04 | 13.1 miles | 07m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 104/
Overall: 1019/8578
Performance: Good
Avg heart rate at 168 bpm.
Course: Rolling hills throughout, but generally downhill until about mile 7. Some steeper climbs miles 7 to the end.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4