Critz Tybee Island Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Tybee Island, Georgia
United States
50'sF / 0C
Precipitation
 		Total Time = 2h 00m 16s
Overall Rank = 518/1236
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 43/73
Pre-race routine:

Woke up early and had typical pre-race meal of coffee, oatmeal, and 2 hard-boiled egg whites. Paid a visit to the poop fairy, and then hopped in the car for the drive to Tybee. Parked at my friend's cottage and walked to the start area.
I had a heck of a time finding the dry clothes drop-off, and bumped into another person searching in vain. We start to talk and she says she's from Virginia and a triathlete, and holy crap!!! It is QueenZipp (Judi) from BT!! We both had thought of PM'ing each other before the race, but thought that might be kinda creepy stalker like. But it was true BT Karma that we met in the midst of 2000 people! So we found the drop-off and hung out at the start line together. Very cool!
Event warmup:

Stretched at the car and did one quick jog around the block looking for the bathroom before the start.
Run
  • 2h 00m 16s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

This was my first half-mary, and I really tried to execute well. My plan was to go slow the first 3 miles at about 20-30 seconds slower than pace, then run at pace for 7 miles, then see how I felt and push it for the last 5K. Unfortunately, I made the stupid rookie mistake of going out too fast too soon. I really wanted to hold back for the first 3 miles, but despite myself, I ended up running 2 seconds/mile faster than pace! And I was trying to go slow! I ran slightly ahead of pace miles 3-8, but at mile 9 the wheels fell off. And this was also the part of the race where the rain and WIND picked up considerably, with 20 mph gusts at times. My lateral hip muscles (TFL's) bilaterally started to really hurt by mile 10/11. My good friend Susan passed me during mile 10. She didn't see me and I tried to use her as pace booty for a bit but couldn't hang. I hung on for mile 13 and kicked it to the roar of the crowd for the finish. My Garmin read 13.24
What would you do differently?:

PACE myself better!! Everyone says the race starts at mile 9, and I proved this totally. It was amazing how there was nothing in the tank at that point. So much for a negative split!! I definitely will learn from this and use it in preparation for the HIM in May.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked a bit, grabbed water and bagels and too-green for me bananas. They ran out of Powerade and I wasn't in the mood for the free beer.
Waited for QueenZipp at the finish chute and we high-fived.
Stretched and caught up with Ousmane who was very positive as always. He is a great supporter. It was cool to high five him during the race!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Too fast too early. Words to live (and die) by!
And the fierce winds didn't help too much either.

Event comments:

Fun race, very flat. I definitely will be back!
If you had told me a year ago that I would run a half-marathon, I would have laughed in your face. Now the first one is in the books!! For a big dude who struggled to run a 10 min mile at all a while back, this is awesome!!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-10-31 12:00 AM
Running
02:00:16 | 13.1 miles | 09m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 43/73
Overall: 518/1236
Performance: Average
Course: Circuitous course down to the lighthouse and then back down Butler Ave to the back river, and then back around again. Lots of turns, but an extremely flat, manageable course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
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