Polar Dash Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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St. Paul, Minnesota
United States
Team Ortho
-6F / -21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 46m 33s
Overall Rank = 98/563
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 5/66
Pre-race routine:

Woke up after getting to bed at 11pm the night before (after a few too many glasses of wine!) Had coffee and a bowl of frosted flakes got dressed and drove to the start. We got there about an hr and 15 min early and were able to park super close so Josh and I were able to stay in the car and stay warm! SCORE! it was -9 degrees out when we left the house... BRRRR!!! about 45 min before the start I drank a pink rock star and went potty right out side of the car. Then, about 20 min before the start I ate a gu and put the rest of my gear on and we walked down to the start and got in line.
Event warmup:

It was freezing!! My toes were the coldest and I couldnt feel my right foot... everyone in line was jumping around - we looked like Mexican jumping beans - it was so funny to see!! I lined up near the 1:55 pacer (My goal was to go under 2 hrs). I joined the jumpers and tried to stay warm - pretty difficult in temps that low - I think we were all ready to get started just so we could all warm up! Right before the start we all scooted forward and I got separated from her (all the pacers were wearing penguin suits! So cute!)
Run
  • 1h 46m 33s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 08s  min/mile
Comments:

I got separated from my 1:55 pacer at the beginning and saw a balloon up ahead and thought maybe it was her so I tried to catch it. At the mile mark I looked at my watch and had run the first mile in under 8 minutes - obviously the pacer i was trying to catch was not mine! I slowed up the pace and right before mile 2 the 1:50 pacer caught up to me (8:24 pace). I thought I'd hang with her for as long as I could. This actually worked out super well - that pace felt like I was moving, but it was just on the harder side of comfortable. Sweet! So I stuck with her until the second turnaround (about mile 9.5 maybe?) She was running through all the water stops so I didn't drink for the first 6 miles. I knew I wanted a gu at the half way point so I got a bit ahead of her, slowed at the water stop there and had a gu. It worked out perfect as right as I was finishing, she caught me and I joined her again. I had to stop and tie my stupid shoe laces 3 times and had to catch her. At the last turnaround I was feeling good so I picked it up and worked hard back to the finish. Those last 3ish miles were difficult and I was pushing and in my estimation (by glancing at my watch at the mile markers) I was running 7:45s or so...

Even though it was SUPER cold out - once I was a mile in, I was warm. Everyone had super funny frost on their faces and hairs and stuff - it was so awesome! A random girl at the finish told me she needed to take my photo and then txted it to me - my eye lashes are totally frosty - it's great!!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. This was my first stand alone half marathon. I had no idea how I'd perform. I knew I could do 9 minute miles, but apparently, I can do 8:08s! (fastest ever running pace for me!) Next time I think I'll jump on the 1:45 pacer and see how that goes. I was super stoked with my performance at the end of the race and even more stoked to see that I ended up 5 out of 66 in my age group!! I'm not usually a top 10% finisher and it's awesome!!!
Post race
Warm down:

Got the medal, a cup of hot chocolate and walked back to the car. No standing around in the sweaty clothes in cold weather - I was freezing by the time I got back to the car! The 5k was starting in about 15 min after I finished so there were a ton of people in penguin hats walking around - it was awesome to see so many people out on New Year's Day!!

Event comments:

Dude. Those volunteers rocked!! It must've been a bummer to stand around in negative degree temps, but there were all great and cheering!! Yay for them!!!




Last updated: 2013-01-01 12:00 AM
Running
01:46:33 | 13.1 miles | 08m 08s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/66
Overall: 98/563
Performance: Good
Course: 2 x down and back. On each loop there were a couple bigish hills - so 4 total over the course.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
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] 5