Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon - RunMarathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Minneapolis, Minnesota
United States
Twin Cities in Motion
32F / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 23m 12s
Overall Rank = 851/8780
Age Group = 45-49 Men
Age Group Rank = 80/583
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 5AM. Had two servings of Perpetuem (540 calories), a cup of coffee with 1/2 and 1/2, a banana (110 calories) , some oatmeal with milk and syrup and later a packet of Hammer gel (90 calories). Tried to get 1000 calories down. Without oatmeal, that's 740 calories, so close.
Event warmup:

Drove to Metrodome. Saw female elites take off for 10 miler. Dropped off bag and used port-o-potty.
Run
  • 3h 23m 12s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 07m 46s  min/mile
Comments:

My strategy was to stick with the 3:25 pace group as long as I could. Great pacer. Did not run even splits because it is not an even course. Needed to bank some time for climb from miles 20 -23. My other concern was to watch my heart rate like a hawk. For the first half of the race, it stayed about 149. By mile 15 it started to climb, but stilled stayed under 160. It didn't get over 160 until the hill at mile 20 and since there was only 6 miles left, I was ok with anything under 165. I was able to stay with the pacer at this heart rate through the climb and the slightly uphill Summit stretch. I believe at the 25 mile mark I pushed ahead of the pacer. After the Cathedral at mile 26, it's straight downhill and I sprinted. I also religiously took powerade and water at each water stop (and I ran through each one) and took hammer gels at 0:45, 1:30, 2:15 and 3:00 hours.
What would you do differently?:

This was about a perfect run for me. I did leave a good amount in the tank, so with 20/20 hindsight, I would have taken off from the pacer sooner. I could have taken, say, a minute off if I did.
Post race
Warm down:

Got space blanket, ate a bag of potato chips and had some water. Picked up bag and changed and got finisher shirt. Then waited for my wife to finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing. I think past two marathon problems were due to heat. I love, love, love cold races.

Event comments:

Just thrilled with this race. I never hit the wall and I never was tempted to walk.




Last updated: 2012-03-11 12:00 AM
Running
03:23:12 | 26.2 miles | 07m 46s  min/mile
Age Group: 80/583
Overall: 851/8780
Performance: Good
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/231159011
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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