Maryland Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Fulton, Maryland
United States
Charm City Run
60F / 16C
Total Time = 1h 25m 2s
Overall Rank = 8/1188
Age Group = 20-29
Age Group Rank = 3/95
Pre-race routine:

Went to bed around 9PM, but wasn't able to fall asleep until midnight. I woke up at 5AM and ate half a piece of toast with 2 tbsp of peanut butter. I mixed 2 scoops of lemon-lime HEED with 24 ounces of water and sipped on this for the 3 hours before the race. The drive was only about an hour away and I got to the race site around 7AM.
Event warmup:

Before the race I did an easy half mile run and used the bathroom before the line got too long. Did some light stretching.
Run
  • 1h 25m 2s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 06m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

I've been suffering from a foot injury on my right foot for the past week. I'm not sure if it is a stress fracture or a soft tissue injury, so I waited to see how I felt in the morning. The foot was sore, but during the race it felt great. It tightened up at mile 8, but loosened up by mile 9. My goal was to run a negative split, so I went out a bit conservatively in the beginning 4 miles. There were several people that went out too fast in the first few miles that I was able to pick off over time. After the hill at mile 5 I felt great and decided to pick up the pace and felt great. I was able to increase my pace throughout the race and finished strong.
What would you do differently?:

After looking at my splits, I feel I could've gone out a bit faster in the beginning. I'm happy with my pace and my results, so I'm glad I didn't go out too fast, which I usually do. My next half marathon is the Baltimore Half Marathon as a race prep for the Philadelphia Marathon. I want to try to push the pace a bit more at Baltimore.
Post race
Warm down:

Did a quick half mile cool down and did light stretching. Did a lot of foam rolling for my calves and legs when I got home. Had some pretty bad foot pain afterwards so did ice and heat.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The foot pain was only an issue at mile 8. Overall I felt great. For a race early in the season, I feel really good about my performance.

Event comments:

This is my 2nd year doing the Maryland Half Marathon. It is a great race to jump start the season, the weather is always decent temperature wise, and it is always well organized. I love the race, love their charity, and love charm city run! It is definitely a staple in my race calendar.




Last updated: 2012-05-07 12:00 AM
Running
01:25:02 | 13.1 miles | 06m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/95
Overall: 8/1188
Performance: Good
Mile 01: 6:46 Mile 02: 6:37 Mile 03: 6:40 Mile 04: 6:34 Mile 05: 6:43 Mile 06: 6:37 Mile 07: 6:32 Mile 08: 6:20 Mile 09: 6:27 Mile 10: 6:15 Mile 11: 6:15 Mile 12: 6:15 Mile 13: 6:12 Mile 13.1: 5:41
Course: The course was a pretty hilly with 1,075 feet of climbing and 1,055 feet descending. There were major hills at miles 2, 4, and 8. The last 2 miles were uphill.
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4