Mercedes Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Birmingham, Alabama
United States
Birmingham Marathon, Inc.
40F / 4C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 2h 06m 20s
Overall Rank = 1429/3332
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 97/136
Pre-race routine:

Racer #1625

Woke at 0400. Coffee & cliff bar. Took care of business as usual. After coffee, sipped on a gatorade/water mix (I water it down. 8oz gatorade, top with water in bottle).
Event warmup:

Arrived at race site at 0630. Met with a couple of training fellows and proceeded to head toward the auditorium for a bathroom visit. Lines were too long so went to the chutes.

Nothing particular for warming up
Run
  • 2h 06m 20s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 38s  min/mile
Comments:

Wore shorts, Nike Cold gear, Team RWBshirt/hat.

Warmed up at mile 6, pullin sleeves up. Could've gone lighter weight shirt or not at all. Still comfortable running temperature wise.

Not by best run. It's a PR, but performance wise, it wasn't what I wanted. I felt out of breath and had no racing gears the whole run. I'm thinking being struck down with the flu 2 weeks out really hurt.

Took a gu at mile 4 & 8. Water stops at mile 2, 6, 10, & 12. Quick sips of water/gatorade alternating each stop.

On pace at the 10k mark (56:28 - 9:07) and not far off at 10mi mark (1:32:14 - 9:13). Felt pretty strong and kept it conversational with Wes for majority of the run. He wasn't planning on racing, just out having fun. Started losing it coming into mile 11 & 12 coughing with a side stich. I'd have to stop and catch my breath so that I could run again.

PRd by 4:21.
What would you do differently?:

Really not get sick. I think that had a huge effect on me, especially losing a week & a half leading up to the race
Post race
Warm down:

Walked through the finishers field picking up my hat and space blanket (not necessary). Grabbed a water & banana.

Went into the auditorium to get the bbq lunch & beer. Milled around a bit and finally left

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being sick and feeling like I need more mileage. I feel the plan I used was good, but I didn't follow it 100% and I feel that I could've used more mileage base and long runs.

Event comments:

Fantastic race as always.

Half Marathon Winner - 1:08:xx
Full Marathon Winner - 2:15:xx




Last updated: 2010-11-09 12:00 AM
Running
02:06:20 | 13.1 miles | 09m 38s  min/mile
Age Group: 97/136
Overall: 136/3332
Performance: Average
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/68263570 1-09:26, 2-09:43, 3-09:01, 4-09:20, 5-09:31, 6-09:10, 7-09:25, 8-10:02, 9-09:20, 10-10:06, 11-09:25, 12-10:18, 13-10:21, 14-08:27
Course: Loop course, starting at Boutwell, around BJCC, through downtown, by railroad park, up by Bartow Arena, down by Alyss Stevens, up to 5pts, through Highland, back by 32nd at Pepper Place, up 20th, finish at Linn Park
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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