Monumental Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Indianapolis, Indiana
United States
32F / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 27m 44s
Overall Rank = 3042/4146
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 226/252
Pre-race routine:

Woke-up, got dressed, had my Blueberry Crisp Clif Bar and 20 oz of water, drove to the race site.
Event warmup:

Walked from the car to the starting line, stretched the IT Band a lot to get it as loose as I could.
Run
  • 2h 27m 44s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 17s  min/mile
Comments:

Everything started out really good, hit my first mile time exactly where I wanted to, right around 9:40 pace which was my goal. Everything was going well. Then right about at the 2 mile mark, I started feeling stabbing pain in my knee. My ITB was already starting to act up and the race had barely even begun. I knew it was going to be a long race. I pulled over to the side of the road and readjusted my knee strap a bit a couple of times until I found a spot that felt good. I got back to running and by the 3 mile mark the knee pain was more just an annoyance than a sharp pain. I knew that my goal time was out the window and I just wanted to maintain a decent pace. I started hitting my miles right at the 10:00 pace, everything was going well and I felt great (fitness wise, knee still bothering me). I made it to the turn around and started heading back south. At the 10 mile mark I was still right on 10 minute miles (right around 1:40 maybe a little bit under) and we went over a little bridge which seemed like the first downhill of the race, I tried to pick it up for the last 5k but my knee just gave out and I almost wanted to cry. Here I was 5k away, managing the pain and I couldn't go any further. I slowed down to a walk and figured, "I'll walk until the knee doesn't hurt anymore." Well, I was pretty ticked off so my walk was more a death march, about a half a mile later I tried to pick it up again and my knee just wouldn't have any of it. So I decided fitness wise I was still feeling great, so I began doing my best impression of the race walkers, this wasn't hurting my knee at all and I was keeping up with some of the "runners" while doing it. Just 2 miles to go, I was going to race walk this all the way in. When I turned the last corner and had 0.1 miles to go I decided "To hell with it, my knee can take it for this little bit" so I picked it up to what had to have been the most painful looking run/gallop/trot and got across the finish line.
What would you do differently?:

I was pretty happy with my overall fitness coming into the race. It was always what had held me back in past races. This time it was my knee (ITB). I would do more hip strengthening exercises and find ways to avoid hurting my knee.
Post race
Warm down:

As I crossed the finish line, a medical person ran towards me with a wheelchair, my gallop/run/trot and my face must have looked pretty bad. I told them I could walk, but they offered to assist me to the medical tent where I could get a nice ITB massage, ice, and ibuprofen. I stayed in the tent for a little while and finally was helped to my feet by the RN's and PT's in the tent. I walked around a bit, changed into some warmer clothes, then walked back to the finish line to see my wife kill it in her marathon.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My stupid IT band. Like I said above, I always thought it would be my lack of fitness that prohibited me from performing, but I felt great fitness wise the whole race, my knee just would only allow me to do so much.

Event comments:

A great course and a great race that just seems to be getting better every year.




Last updated: 2010-08-03 12:00 AM
Running
02:27:44 | 13.1 miles | 11m 17s  min/mile
Age Group: 226/252
Overall: 3042/4146
Performance: Below average
Course: Mostly flat, through historic neighborhoods and downtown.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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] 4