Disneyland Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Anaheim, California
United States
Disney's Wide World of Sports
65F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 40m 46s
Overall Rank = 328/12358
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 44/751
Pre-race routine:

Set the alaram for 4:30. Made my coffee, had a banana and a PB Clif Bar, grabbed some water and headed off to meet my college roommate (the one who got me started in this whole crazy thing 4 years ago - it was this race that got me off the couch).
Event warmup:

Did some light stretching as we found a spot in our corral ('A'). I was feeling loose and ready to go.
Run
  • 1h 40m 46s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 41s  min/mile
Comments:

Since my tri season ended with the collapse of the Tempe Town Lake Dam, I stopped biking and swimming and concentrated solely on the run. My training had only been run focused for about 4 or 5 weeks, but I set out with 3 goals in mind - - 1) finish, 2) set a new PR, and 3) go sub 1:40.

It's a crowded race, but I got some good lanes and tried to keep an even pace so I wouldn't overextend myself too early. I'm switching my mentality from a go-all-out to more focused on pacing. I knew what I had to run, but it didn't help that the 1:40 pace runner dropped me about 4 1/2 miles into the race. Said he was right on pace, but seemed a little ahead to me. He also wasn't too concerned with keeping anyone with him - just seemed like he was talking with his buddy. Other pacers I've seen try to rally and encourage their group, I think this guy was trying to lose them. But I digress.... I was still on my pace and running my race.

Around mile 9 or 10, I realized I was behind. I was thinking it was going to be like my first marathon - -where i missed my goal by 7 seconds. I tried to speed up a little, but still trying to hold something back for the last 2 miles. I didn't have much left in the tank, but I was still feeling pretty good.

Very excited about my finish, the overall place, and that I set a new PR. I did miss the sub 1:40 and several guys passed me between 13 and the finish (I thought 'WTF?' as they ran by - -where did they get this finishing speed and where is mine????). Again, I digress....

Nice to set a new PR and Disney always puts on a great race. This event has been running for 5 years and I've run in 4 of them. This is probably a race that will always find a place on my schedule.

One odd thing that occurred -- I listened to like 3 songs on my iPod the entire run. The first few miles through the park, Disney had music going. Once I left the parks, i tried 2 or 3 times to listen, but it seemed like it was distracting me from listening to my body. The music seemed really annoying....very weird, because I love running to music.
What would you do differently?:

Start my run-focused training earlier? I had some goals and came pretty damn close. Time for some new goals....
Post race
Warm down:

Got my medal and headed through the refreshment lines. Got my finish photo taken and headed to the massage tent for a quick rub-down. One nice thing about finishing ahead of 97% of the field is that the line is short at the massage area! Ran into Dean outside the tent who had also set a new PR, but I didn't hang oaround the finish line long as I had to get ack to my hotel, shower, and get my girls back here for when Disneyland opened at 9am.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not much - -this was my best half marathon run! I'll add some speedwork to the mix and see if I can top this one.

Event comments:

I love this race and hope to continue running it. Great event and great way to mix in a vacation with the kids and a race.


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Last updated: 2010-02-19 12:00 AM
Running
01:40:46 | 13.1 miles | 07m 41s  min/mile
Age Group: 44/751
Overall: 328/12358
Performance: Good
Course: Around Disneyland/California Adv for the first 4 miles or so, then out and around Anaheim, around the Arrowhead Pond, through the Angels' stadium, and back to Disney.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5