Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon - RunMarathon


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New Orleans, Louisiana
United States
Elite Racing
45F / 7C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 4h 20m 15s
Overall Rank = 1458/3517
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 175/289
Pre-race routine:

Took a yoga class Friday morning, which was great, and an easy 1.6 mile run Saturday morning.

Drive to New Orleans was very stressful due to rain and traffic. Spent way too much time on my feet Saturday and allowed myself to get drained.

Didn't feel like oatmeal for breakfast so had leftover chicken and rice from dinner the night before. It was actually really good and caused no ill effects. Might experiment with other rice-based pre-race dishes in the future.


Event warmup:

Didn't warm up very much due to length of race
Run
  • 4h 20m 15s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

First 10 miles were pretty good, although I was overdressed and began to get warm around 4 miles. HR and pace were on target. Began to feel tired between 9 and 12 as we were going through downtown and the French Quarter. Pace began to slow at mile 12 and Esplanade began to feel very long. At halfway point, my pace was right at 8:30, which was my target. Miles began to feel very long going through City Park. At mile 19, I decided to take a short walk break. After that point my legs began to cramp really bad so I'd alternate running and walking the rest of the way.
What would you do differently?:

First, as I'm tapering my training, I need to focus on getting into the right state of mind. Second, I need to have a solid pre-race nutrition plan and make sure that the 48 hours before the race are planned out in advance to maximize rest. Third, I overdressed. This was a rookie mistake that I usually don't make. I'm chalking it up to my mindset not being right.
Post race
Warm down:

1/2 mile walk from finish to shuttle pick-up

What limited your ability to perform faster:

mental state, pre-race nutrition and rest, and overheating

Event comments:

RnR does a good job of organizing races so I would definitely do this one again.




Last updated: 2010-03-18 12:00 AM
Running
04:20:15 | 26.2 miles | 09m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 175/289
Overall: 1458/3517
Performance: Below average
1 - 8:27 2 - 8:28 3 - 8:12 4 - 8:37 5 - 8:28 6 - 8:28 7 - 8:26 8 - 8:23 9 - 8:29 10 - 8:28 11 - 8:35 12 - 8:46 13 - 8:47 14 - 8:49 15 - 8:52 16 - 9:05 17 - 9:08 18 - 9:31 19 - 10:29 20 - 12:37 21 - 12:36 22 - 13:36 23 - 15:05 24 - 12:03 25 - 13:03 26 - 12:08
Course: Course was pretty good. Very flat - only thing resembling a hill was going under a railroad overpass in City Park. Only course flaw was that in some sections the road was very rough.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? No
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] 5