Christie Clinic Illinois Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Champaign, Illinois
United States
Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon
54F / 12C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 29m 29s
Overall Rank = 98/6201
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 21/381
Pre-race routine:

Drove down to Champaign on Friday. We got there around 2:20 or so at my sister and brother in laws house to stay the weekend. After we unpacked we went down to the expo and picked up my race packet and other stuff. Found a cool zombie apocolypse sticker for my truck during the expo. Got to meet the guy who runs with the Tarahumara people. He was dressed in their traditional garb and answered a few of my questions. Left there and went home and had a carb loaded dinner and we were in bed by a tad after 9.
Event warmup:

Had the alarm set for 4:45 but I was up by 4:30. Didn't sleep very good and had a nightmare that my race went terrible and I was super slow. haha. Either way we left the house shortly before 6 and drove the 5 minutes over to the building behind where the start is at. My sister works there so we just went inside and stretched out. We should have left a good 10 minutes from the building earlier because we barely made it from packet drop off to inside the race corrals. I was in the A corral about 18 feet from the very front. I didn't get in there in time to get next to the 7:04 mile pacer(fastest one) but, I figured I could catch up within a minute after the gun went off.
Run
  • 1h 29m 29s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 06m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

The whole thing went really well I thought. When we started I didn't have any issues it seemed really getting back up with the pacer I was going to follow. So far this race has some of the best run support around that you will find. They had bands playing at different sections of the course and in general people come out to cheer you on. I decided to stay with the pacer until at least mile 6 and from there I would decide how I felt as to if I would go ahead of him. The first two miles flew by it seemed and we were about 10-15 seconds faster than what we should have been. My heart rate was doing great. Only around 155-56 which is just a beat or two higher than my Z2. Grabbed some water at the first aid station and then at the second I did Gatorade and water. Once I got to mile six I was feeling fine and decided that it was a good time to leave the pacer and group behind and start going at least 6:50 a mile or better if I wanted to be under 1:30. Glad I did. I felt great and once I went by the aid station with the Gu's I took one and some water. Just what the doctor ordered. I was really starting to reel people in. From that point on I was not passed at all and I bet in total I passed 75 people at least. In hindsight I think I should have left the pacer maybe even a mile sooner. Around mile 9 I started to pour on the speed a tad more because I wanted to make sure I was under. Once I hit 10 I knew all I had was a 5k to run and I did that around 20 minutes or less I believe. By mile 11.5 my quads were starting to burn pretty good but I just kept picking new targets ahead of me and made it a goal to reel them in and pass them. Once we were one mile out I knew I had to give it everything so I poured on more speed and I think I was running around a 6:20-30 pace at least I think. When I was coming into the stadium I had three guys ahead of me and I was able to sprint past all of them and finished strong. This truely is an awesome finish location. I am an Illini fan and getting to finish on the 50 yard line of Memorial stadium where so many great football players have played is pretty cool. Overall a great race!
What would you do differently?:

Really the only thing I would have done differently is leave the pacer a mile or so sooner so I wouldn't of had to push it quite so hard the last few miles. I think I could have maintained a 6:40-50 pace sooner than the 6.25 mile area. Not much else I could have done. Possibly lost a couple extra pounds before the race and not have my nagging foot problem going on!
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and did some light stretching. Knew my legs were going to really be hurting in a few hours so I did some quad stretches and what not.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not leaving the pacer sooner. Really this was my first half marathon race so it was a very big learning experience. Next time will hopefully be better.

Event comments:

This is a great course. If you want to Boston qualify this is a nice flat course for the most part with only a few "hills" thrown in there. Lots of volunteers and plenty of aid stations and entertainment/support along the way. They have been doing a great job for five years now it seems. I plan on racing again next year...maybe the full.




Last updated: 2012-12-28 12:00 AM
Running
01:29:29 | 13.1 miles | 06m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 21/381
Overall: 98/6201
Performance: Good
Course: Pretty flat course for the most part. There were a few "hills" thrown in there inside the meadowbrook park but I live in NW Illinois and to me they really were not hills. I think the first 13 miles are the best of the course if you are doing the full marathon. Downtown Urbana is where you go through and run around.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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