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Comments: I was assigned to Corral #1 which was great since at my first half-marathon, I started somewhere way back (like Corral Q). It was nice to start with the main group and the gun. I was hoping to run close to my first half-marathon PR of 1:44 so I lined up at the back of the Corral (the cut-off time was 1:45). During the first half-mile, I ran my planned pace of just a few seconds over 8:00 and HR was good. A friend ran by and I decided to pace with them for a bit and went to 7:38 for about a mile and I noticed my HR climbing past the mid 150's that I was planning to stay at for first 3 miles or so so I backed off. I found a couple of people to pace with that kept my HR just in the mid 150's until Mile 5. In hindsight, I probably should have let if float to the high 150's after Mile 3 (which was the plan) but I was feeling tired so I thought I'd be more conservative. I took my first drink at the 2nd water stop and that, combined with too much water at the start of the race had me looking for a porta-potty around Mile 5. I thought about just trying to hold it but I still had over half the race to go so I knew I had to bite the bullet and stop. I found a porta-potty a little past 6.5 miles and lost about 30 seconds doing that. I also took 2 Endurolytes at around 45 minute mark since I was starting to overheat and was worried about too much sweating and cramps. After I got out of my unscheduled pit stop, I rejoined the race and was amazed at how the crowd had gotten thicker just 30 seconds back. Even more concerning - after about a quarter-mile, I noticed that I was now behind the 1:45 pace group! I was at Mile 7 by this time, and I immediately decided to increase effort to Low 160's (HR) and went from about an 8:00 pace to 7:15. I was able to hold that pace for 2 miles until I noticed HR going past 165 and here is where I knew that I didn't recover enough from the previous days as I just didn't have the mental energy to continue holding my HR at 165 (in my previous HM, I went to 170+) and started slowing down to just below 7:30. At Mile 11, I convinced myself to start my kick as I was a little over 2 miles to go (my race plan was to start kicking with 3 miles left but I decided to be conservative). Dropped the pace back to around 7:15 for next 2 miles getting HR to high 160's. I thought about pushing harder in case I can break 1:40 but realized that I was going to be a minute off at best so I didn't try to dig deep and even slowed down slightly to 7:30 in the last half-mile. In the last half of the race, I was getting very hot and was lifting my shirts as high as I can to get more cooling. Of course, when I was approaching the finish line, I took the time to get everything fixed right, zipped up my tri top and just hoped the photographers got a good shot. Ended with 1:42:07 which was 2min 1sec better than my first half-marathon. What would you do differently?: Several things: 1.) Do not do any training the day prior to the race - maybe a short jog or bike ride, but not a 40-mile bike ride pulling on a windy day. 2.) Do not cram swim workouts (3 swim workouts on the 2 days prior to the race) when you haven't swam in 4 weeks. This was mentally exhausting for me. 3.) Do not drink a whole bottle of water prior to the race. It just didn't have time to go through me until I was already 30 min into the race. 4.) Wear less. Probably should've gone with shorts, a t-shirt, and arm-warmers (which I could easily pull down during the run if it got to warm).  Post race
Warm down: stretched after the finish as I was chatting with some friends. Also had a recovery drink after I got my bag-check. Had brunch at Chuy's with Runners Drink Beer (RDB) people. What limited your ability to perform faster: Unscheduled Porta-Potty break - 30 sec Not resting the day prior to run - 30 sec to 1 min Getting injured in January so I only got about 3 good weeks of training for this half-marathon - probably at least 1-2 minutes. I think a sub 1:40 run in today's conditions was very possible if I had been able to follow my training plan. I would've been probaby another min faster without the stop and getting more rest. Event comments: I think this was a good race and I would do it again. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't give out those mylar blankets at the finish as it was very cold and could've used them. Unlike the White Rock Half-Marathon, the post-race food and refreshments were outdoor and it was very cold. I did like the bands that kept me entertained (probably could've used more bands as some sections were eerily quiet). Lots of turnout along the way which was nice. It was also nice to have beaten Dallas Cowboy great Troy Aikman at something (he ran a 1:48:11)! Last updated: 2010-12-07 12:00 AM
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United States
Competitor Group
48F / 9C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 630/10969
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 75/674
Given that I just decided to sign up for my first Ironman 70.3 (Lonestar in Galveston, TX) about 3 days before this race - without specific training, and not swimming for over 4 weeks, I figure I better not waste my 2 weeks. I am also having to travel for work which will not allow me to swim or bike for the next 4 days. I tapered off my running after my long run last Sunday, only doing a couple of short brick runs after my bike rides on Tue/Thu and a 35-min tempo run on Wed.
After signing up for Lonestar 70.3, I decided I needed to work on my swim as much as possible over the next couple of weeks so I did 2 swim workouts (one in the morning, and one in the evening) on Friday. Felt exhausted and gassed from that as I ended both workouts slighly dizzy (and they were both pretty short). On Saturday, I woke up early to do another short swim workout (my arms were feeling it from the previous day and cut it short when I felt a slight twinge in my left shoulder). Very sensitive to anything with the shoulders since I know I was upping my swim volume too fast. I then lead a 40-mile bike ride though at a slower pace than my normal but the wind was tough and made it a harder ride since I stayed 100% in front.
On Race Day, I tried to sleep early but didn't get to bed until past 11pm and woke up at 5:00am. I need to really try and get at least 7 hrs before a race next time especially if I had trained the past 5 days. I had a Clif Bar on drive over to Fair Park. Traffic seemed to flow ok and got there in plenty of time. Also did a bag-check which I will do moving forward. Contents: Recovery Shake, change of clothes, and compression tights (but didn't have any place to put them on).
Race attire: Nike long sleeve tight shirt and Sugoi sleeveless triathlon top (for the pocket), Pearl Izumi long tights, Balega socks, Saucony Hurricane 12. I was overdressed for this run and probably should have worn tri-shorts and tri-top (possibly with arm warmers) as there was little wind. Definitely just 1 layer up top and shorts.
Warm-up was a little over half mile of jogging and a few strides and then had to find a restroom. I had a Hammer Gel 15 minutes before the start but I over-hydrated (more on this later) and drank way too much water. From my warm-up, I knew I was tired as legs did not feel fresh and I was mentally not fired up.