Martian Half Marathon - Run


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Northville, Michigan
United States
Martian Marathon
45F / 7C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 57m 15s
Overall Rank = 544/1152
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 42/56
Pre-race routine:

We woke up an hour late this morning. Good thing I happened to look at the time before it got too late. It definitely seemed like it had been light out for too long, and it was!
So, rushed to get dressed, grab some luna bars and got in the car.
Ate 1 luna bar ~1hr before, a pear ~45min before, and had 1 gel ~5min before start.
Met up with Rick, Trixie, and Wendi after we got to the race site. Messed around until the gun went off, realize that that meant we should probably start running, and off we went.
Event warmup:

Not much. Jogged from the car to where Rick was parked.
Run
  • 1h 57m 15s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 57s  min/mile
Comments:

I'm thrilled with this run time. Breaking 9min/mile was a stretch goal, but I did it!!!!
I was aiming to pace myself 5/5/5 - 5miles in Z2, 5miles in Z3, 5K in Z4-5. I did great with the 5 miles in Z2 and also good in the 5 miles in Z3, but I didn't really have enough left to push it too much on the last 5K.
But, going back to the beginning - first few miles really seemed to go by quickly. I realized after the first mile I was going out too fast (9:05), so reigned in a bit for miles 2-3. I must have missed the mile 2 marker. Miles 2-3 were at 9:29m/m, very comfortable. I decided to push toward the higher end of Z2 for the next two miles, which were both at 9:18. There was definitely some wind here, but tried to hide behind people when I could.
Mile 6 came along and so I bumped it up to Zone 3. Mile 6 was at 8:40, and then miles 7-8 were 8:27m/m - REALLY FAST, especially considering I stopped to take a gel. I probably took a good 20 seconds. Miles 9 and 10 were kinda tough, I slowed down a little I think, but kept the HR in the same area. Mile 9 was 8:52, mile 10 8:44.
At this point I was supposed to bump it up to Zones 4-5, but I didn't think I had enough gas for that. Plus, I knew from my pace sheet that I was well on track to break 9 min/mile - I think I was 10 seconds ahead at mile 10. So I pushed it a little more to the to of zone 3, maybe into low zone 4, but not much more. I actually slowed down over miles 11 and 12 (8:51 and 9:03). I think mile 12 was the hardest. I probably could have kept going a little faster, but I was pretty tired, and I knew I was in great shape to break 9min/mile. I didn't want to push too hard and risk not hitting that goal if I were to hit a wall or something.
At mile 12, I knew I was in awesome shape, I figured that I could run the last 1.1 miles at 10min/mile or slower and still be fine. But I was able to pick it up this last mile a little. Over miles 11-12 I was getting passed by people, so I tried to just not let too many people pass me. I had enough in me for a little acceleration at the end, and that was it.

It was nice starting near the back of the pack, since for almost the entire race I was rarely passed. Only that last ~2miles was I getting passed.

I think I paced pretty well, but would have liked to have been able to go a little faster at the end. I probably took miles 6-8 too fast, but in general it was a good job of pacing.


Overall: Avg HR 178, Max HR 197
Zone 1: 2m 00s
Zone 2: 43m 44s
Zone 3: 1h 04m 09s
Zone 4: 6m 45s
Zone 5: 0m 42s

Mile 1: 9:05 (Avg HR 166, Max HR 175)
Mile 2-3: 9:29 m/m (Avg HR 173, Max HR 179)
Mile 4: 9:18 (Avg HR 174, Max HR 179)
Mile 5: 9:18 (Avg HR 175, Max HR 180)
Mile 6: 8:40 (Avg HR 180, Max HR 184)
Mile 7-8: 8:27 m/m (Avg HR 180, Max HR 186)
Mile 9: 8:52 (Avg HR 181, Max HR 184)
Mile 10: 8:44 (Avg HR 180, Max HR 185)
Mile 11: 8:51 (Avg HR 182, Max HR 189)
Mile 12: 9:03 (Avg HR 183, Max HR 187)
Mile 13.1: 8:42 m/m (Avg HR 186, Max HR 197)

Time out: 1:00:30
Time back: 56:47
What would you do differently?:

Not oversleep :)
Take the transition from zone2 to zone3 a little slower, not go too fast in those middle miles.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around. Looked for Jean but didn't see her - kinda hard since I'd only seen photos and hadn't met her - so walked back along the path until I saw lisa running with some nut in a bright yellow jacket, a grass skirt, and a green martian.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I dunno. Just keep working at it. I think all the interval runs I've done recently have helped a lot, together with using Chi Running.
I definitely found myself letting my cadence slip a few times, and bringing back the focus to ChiRunning ideas helped.

Event comments:

Had a great time. Afterwards, hung out with the BT crowd, and went to MickeyD's for lunch. Had me a double quarter pounder with cheese and a McChicken sandwich... yumm. I wanted to get an ice cream cone but didn't have room... :( I'll have to have one tonight.
It was awesome meeting and hanging out with all the BT folks. Thanks y'all!!!!




Last updated: 2006-02-04 12:00 AM
Running
01:57:15 | 13.1 miles | 08m 57s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/56
Overall: 0/1152
Performance: Good
Overall: Avg HR 178, Max HR 197 Zone 1: 2m 00s Zone 2: 43m 44s Zone 3: 1h 04m 09s Zone 4: 6m 45s Zone 5: 0m 42s Mile 1: 9:05 (Avg HR 166, Max HR 175) Mile 2-3: 9:29 m/m (Avg HR 173, Max HR 179) Mile 4: 9:18 (Avg HR 174, Max HR 179) Mile 5: 9:18 (Avg HR 175, Max HR 180) Mile 6: 8:40 (Avg HR 180, Max HR 184) Mile 7-8: 8:27 m/m (Avg HR 180, Max HR 186) Mile 9: 8:52 (Avg HR 181, Max HR 184) Mile 10: 8:44 (Avg HR 180, Max HR 185) Mile 11: 8:51 (Avg HR 182, Max HR 189) Mile 12: 9:03 (Avg HR 183, Max HR 187) Mile 13.1: 8:42 m/m (Avg HR 186, Max HR 197) Time out: 1:00:30 Time back: 56:47
Course: Nice course. Quite flat, with some shallow hills. Windy on the way out, which either died by the time I turned around or it was just at my back and I didn't feel it as much.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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] 5