Charleston Marathon - RunMarathon


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Charleston, South Carolina
United States
Riverfront Race Festival
35F / 2C
Sunny
Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

I woke up at about 6am and had breakfast: (frosted!) mini wheats, and on the way to the race I had half of an Odwalla bar. I wasn't nervous at all really, which is very odd for me. The weather was cold, but I knew that once the sun came out, it would be perfect running weather.

My heart rate monitor is now 0 for 3. For the third race in a row, the HR feature did not work. This time, I have no idea why; the battery was pretty new. Slightly disappointing, but it happens.
Event warmup:

Just some walking to keep loose...
Run
  • 4h 22m 2s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 10m  min/mile
Comments:

I went out with the 4 hour pace group and was within about 50 feet of them (sometimes just ahead ahead, sometimes just behind) until about mile 19 or 20. I took off my long sleeve shirt around mile 3, and tossed it into a garbage can about 20 feet away (right in!). I felt great for the first half of the race, definitely enjoying myself. I started feeling not as good, but still OK around 15-16 miles; it was somewhere in there that the pacer took a bathroom break and handed it off to someone else for a bit; this guy was definitely going faster than 9:10mm! Oh well.

I lost the 4 hour pacer a few miles after that. My quads and IT bands were getting really sore at this point. Mile 20 and the last out and back from 22 to 25 felt like forever! I got a pretty bad cramp in my calf somewhere in this area and took a walk break or two (no longer than a tenth of a mile) to loosen that up. I wish I was able to push it across the finish line, but I didn't didn't have much in me.
What would you do differently?:

I don't know. I'm temped to think that I should have started out slower, but I have a feeling that the same thing may have happened and I would have just been a little slower. I really need to experiment with pace.

I should also perhaps experiment with nutrition. I ate half of the Odwalla bar right before the race and the other half within the first 5 miles. Then I had some sports beans starting around mile 8 or 9, and really nursed them for a while. Then at the mile of death (20)I tried to get in a gel but I just couldn't. Maybe more food early.

I think my fluid intake was pretty good.

Next time, I think I will train with speed in mind. I am definitely happy with how I did, but I really want to get in in less than 4 hours.
Post race
Warm down:

Walking and stretching. We waited around for a while to see if Britney won an award. She did! Second in her age group, 3:28 minutes or there about. She was also 7th overall for the woman. Unbelievable for her first race (other than the mud run!). She's a machine.

Event comments:

Great job!




Last updated: 2010-11-10 12:00 AM
Running
04:22:02 | 26.2 miles | 10m  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course: Flat! There was only one memorable hill (maybe a tenth of a mile); the rest was pretty gentle.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4