Kona Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
United States
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 26m 42s
Overall Rank = 12/462
Age Group = M40-49
Age Group Rank = 5/47
Pre-race routine:

Woke up way too early. We attended a wedding the night before with an open bar. Didn't get to sleep until after 11 and had to wake up around 4:15 in order to make the 50 minute drive to race start. My stomach wasn't feeling well at all so I wasn't able to get much in the way of breakfast down.
Event warmup:

Ran from the shopping center we parked at to the start, about 1/4 mile downhill.
Run
  • 1h 26m 42s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 06m 37s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt like crap when I toed the line and didn't have any expectations. I also forgot my Garmin, so any pacing plan was going to be winging it. There was a guy I knew from work at the race who is faster than I am. He had his Garmin so I decided my only goal was to keep him in sight as long as possible. He took off at about a 0630 mile and was pretty consitent throughout. I managed to stay in his hip pocket until we started uphill turning off of Alii. I managed to close the distance a little before the turnaround, but as we headed back downhill he pulled away.
At this point, it was all about pain management for me. All I was trying to do was keep cool and hang on. I didn't want to risk any gels or gatorade because my stomach was questionable at best, so I was worried about bonking. I made sure to get at least water in me at every stop.
Around mile 10 I noticed that the guy from work was slowing going up a longish hill. At the same time "Thunderstruck" started playing in my headphones. I got a second wind and started pushing up the hill, passing him about mid way. I fully expected him to pass me on the downhill, but I guess he didn't have it in him. I pushed as hard as I could the next couple of miles to the finish. As I started to make the turn off the road into the chute, I hear the footsteps of someone trying to "snake" me to the finish. I hate when people do this when they are not in contention for winning. So I picked it up into a sprint, not letting them beat me.
What would you do differently?:

Not attentd a wedding the night before with an open bar.
Post race
Event comments:

The race was very well ran and the course was fantastic.




Last updated: 2010-06-22 12:00 AM
Running
01:26:42 | 13.1 miles | 06m 37s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/47
Overall: 12/462
Performance: Average
Course: Along the coast on Alii Drive, up to the new shopping center and back.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4