Gopher Attack - RunHalf Marathon


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Regina, Saskatchewan
Canada
Marathon Matters
4C / 39F
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 05m 52s
Overall Rank = 70/109
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 43/61
Pre-race routine:

One hardboiled egg, almond butter and saskatoon jam with two slices of bread. Coffee at 5:10 AM.
Did my morning stuff, greased up all my chaffing bits and got dressed. Woke up FW.
Figured out what kind of clothing I would need from the pile I laid out the night before. Decided against a jacket. Underlayer with two tech fabrics shirts, middle one long sleeved. And gloves.
Left the house and drove 10 minutes to race site. Yeah, I live pretty close to the run start of most local races
Event warmup:

Some sprints and some machs, not lots. Didn't feel like it.
Talked to some friends. Had some water and some pieces of Hammer Bar from the Western cycle booth.
Said bye to FW who ws volunteering at one of the street crossings.
Met up with NLG listened to too quiet race instructions.
Run
  • 2h 05m 52s
  • 21.1 kms
  • 05m 58s  min/km
Comments:

Ran with Navarra. A little faster than I wanted, but felt good. Averaged about 5:40 for first 10 k. water/gel at 5 and 10, and 15k. Both of us needed to pee so we used porta potty at 10k turnaround. A little delay there.
Second 10k wasn't as comfortable, about 5:55 pace. At about 19k I just didn't feel like running anymore. Navarra went on and I took a short walk break. Then another. Got a little demoralized because the last turn to head back to the finish line was not where I expected, so that through me off my pace...didn't walk though. Just kept going.
Finished pretty strong, Didn't feel like I had my usual kick at the end, but it seems I was doing a 3:37 pace, so I guess I did!

Here is the Garmin race numbers:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/28736162
What would you do differently?:

Not much...Maybe not talk during the run, then I wouldn't have had to walk at the end. But the conversation was good and distracting. Rock and hard place!
Felt strong. I clearly can do the distance. Don't quite have the speed yet, but I had more speed than I thought leading up to this. I was expecting to run about 2:25, so this was a pleasant surprise.
Post race
Warm down:

Hung around a lot and watched the Marathon leaders come in. Helped a couple of people who were not doing that great. Then ran about 2k to where FW was volunteering. Talked with her for a while, then ran back to race start/car and drove home, showered and went to pick up FW.
Had a banana...shoulda had more food and I didn't. My brain always shuts down after a race.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

More speed/hill training is needed. Talking during the run probably didn't help.

Event comments:

First time I've run this race. It was a good day, great weather. Fantastic company on the run and along the way.
I had a great time and so glad FW was there to share it, even though she wasn't at finish line.
Volunteers - captained by my personal body marker, Wanda, were amazing. They made the race.
Great buffet after the race. Shared a table with some good friends.
Strange feeling of welcome - the whole room felt like they were friends. We have a very friendly running community.




Last updated: 2010-03-28 12:00 AM
Running
02:05:52 | 21.1 kms | 05m 58s  min/km
Age Group: 0/61
Overall: 0/109
Performance: Good
Averaged 150BPM for most of the race. HR was good. HR might have been harder because I was talking with Navarra and that screwed up my pace and my breathing. This is probably what effected my last 5k.
Course: this is a Boston-certified course. Not a lot to say about it other than this is a course that I have run a million times in one direction or another. Good course. And great day.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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? No
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4