Gettysburg North-South Marathon RELAY - RunMarathon


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Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
United States
50F / 10C
Overcast
 		Total Time = 1h 56m 12s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Up at 5:45 to load the car and have breakfast. Had coffee, a bagel and a banana.
Brad dropped me off at the Gettysburg Hotel a little before 7 where I met Shawn and Earl.
Event warmup:

No real warm up. Walked to the race start with the guys, hit the port-o-potty and waited for the start. Took a GU about 30 minutes before the start.
Run
  • 1h 56m 12s
  • 13.25 miles
  • 08m 46s  min/mile
Comments:

Ran in shorts, FeXY run singlet and arm warmers (arm warmers were pulled down within the first mile and off by mile 11).
I knew the course was hilly and it started with a climb to the Peace Light. I started running solo and Earl joined me within the first mile. I love company when I run, but don't talk a lot which I informed Earl of. We chatted now and then and the miles were absolutely flying by. Things felt really good and my legs and breathing were under control, even on the hills. I wanted to see if I could PR, but wasn't sure what the course would be like. Plan was to run 9's for the first 9-10 miles and then see what I could do and pick it up from there.
Some miles were faster than 9, but I started to just go off of feel instead of being afraid of the "fast for me" pace. Took a GU at miles 5 and 9. Not sure what mile it happened, but I started to have a sharp pain in my left knee on the downhills. It was fine on the flats and uphills. I changed my gait a bit to favor the right leg and just get down the hill. Eventually, the pain went away and didn't come back. I hit a rough spot at mile 11 where one of the biggest climbs happened to be. I could definitely feel my legs and body tiring by this point and was really ready to just be done running. Then the damn hill. And it kept going. I mentioned to Earl I was fading, but he gave some encoragement and we pushed on. Luckily, the rest of the course after this climb was either flat or downhills. Picked up the pace when I was at mile 13 on the Garmin. Didn't realize we had to go past the relay hand off spot, down a hill to the turn around. Climbed the final climb and tagged off to Brad for his run leg.
What would you do differently?:

I can't really think of what I would do differently. I am grateful to have Earl's company, encoragement and pacing. Weather was perfect - cool and overcast. Course was good. Challenging, but beautiful.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank a bunch of gatorade before driving to the finish to watch Brad and Earl finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hmm...not sure. Perhaps the ride the day before, but I honestly don't think that affected me on race day.

Event comments:

First year for this race and knowing that, it was run pretty well. Brad and I jumped in a few weeks out to use this as a training run.




Last updated: 2011-04-28 12:00 AM
Running
01:56:12 | 13.25 miles | 08m 46s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: Marathon course was an out and back. I ran the first leg which started in Gettysburg.
Keeping cool Good 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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 3