Baltimore Half-Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Baltimore, Maryland
United States
Baltimore Running Festival
65F / 18C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 37m 36s
Overall Rank = 225/8038
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 28/427
Pre-race routine:

Long time since I've run a half. So used pre-Tri routine of Bagel and PB and coffee 3 hours before start time. Gel 30 mins before.
Event warmup:

None
Run
  • 1h 37m 36s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 27s  min/mile
Comments:

Seeded myself about 50 yards back which was a bit conservative - so passed a number in the first few miles as things settled down. Looked at my watch after about 0.5 mile and it was reading a 8:38 pace so clearly I was settling into too gentle a pace. After first gradual hill found a rhythm of around 7:30 and kept this around the lake. Winds occasionally were gusty and so I had to put my head down and push through them. Took sips at most aid stations and poured rest over my head. By 33rd street around mile 9 felt good and started to push the pace more. Following left hand turn mostly downhill (although great to see Tiger Man at the top of a small incline having read about him in the Baltimore Sun online that morning) really started to stretch out. Garmin was reading 6:30/6:45 - in mile 12 I averaged 7:00 and mile 13 the average was 6:45. Crowds downtown and around the two stadia were superb. Sprinted for the line - again left too much in the tank but since this was my first half since 1988 I guess that pacing was always going to be guesswork.
What would you do differently?:

Push pace a little earlier - started out just right but could have accelerated before mile 9/10.
Post race
Warm down:

Just walked around a bit with food and drink then sat down in centre of runners compound (as it wasn't too busy at that point) and ate.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of running pedigree. Training for a 70.3 rather than a Half Mary so only putting in around 20-25 miles a week. Dodgy knees.

Event comments:

Great volunteers and Baltimore Police. Ran through parts of Baltimore I wouldn't have walked through ;-)

Overall a Half Mary PB by 2 mins for me after 22 years off (last Half Marathon I ran was the St Andrews Half Marathon in Scotland as a college student). Only ran this race as a warm up for MiamiMan 70.3 next month but just goes to show that getting past 40 is no limiter !




Last updated: 2010-06-28 12:00 AM
Running
01:37:36 | 13.1 miles | 07m 27s  min/mile
Age Group: 28/427
Overall: 225/8038
Performance: Good
Course: Rough rectangle around inner city Baltimore
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? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5