Baltimore Running Festival - CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Half-Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Baltimore, Maryland
United States
Baltimore Running Festival
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 54m 38s
Overall Rank = 913/3869
Age Group = F30-34
Age Group Rank = 49/353
Pre-race routine:

Up early, oatmeal and coffee, got my stuff together, put on a contractor bag over my long sleeve shirt and shorts (it was 34 degrees out), walked a mile to the light rail station (we did get some funny looks - why are these people wearing trash bags at 7:00 in the morning?
Event warmup:

Cheered on the full marathon participants, tried to find the best spot for sun absorption, it was cold! The trash bags seemed to work well though, they absorbed the warmth and kept it in for the most part. I was warmer than Jeff because mine reached almost to the ground to cover my entire body, whereas Jeff's calves were exposed. Luckily the sun was out!
Run
  • 1h 54m 37s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 45s  min/mile
Comments:

First few miles were tough because it was so crowded, I was having trouble running at the pace I wanted to, when I saw 9:35 I knew I needed to step it up quite a bit in order to reach my goal of 1:55. About mile 3 I found the 3:40 marathon pace group so I stayed with them for a while, the pacers were all really cool, that gave me a good energy boost. I felt really comfortable on the climbs and I felt that I could push harder. So I did and I went ahead of them until the downhill started and then I started to get a side cramp. I was surprised I got the cramp, I normally don't get them, and the fact that I got it on the downhill, it was strange. So I tried everything I could think of, gel, water, gatorade, I wasn't sure what my body wanted or what the cramp meant. Luckily it went away by mile 9. The 3:40 pace group passed me (I knew if I came in with them that would put me right around 1:55 since I started 1:45 min after them). I cruzed along trying to catch them for a couple miles and then at mile 11 my legs started to really hurt. By mile 12 I was out of water and gatorade and there weren't any water stations left. I needed to push through it and get to the end. I was looking at my watch and knew that 1:55 would really be tough, especially with my legs starting to feel the way they did. And the 3:40 pace group was nowhere in sight. That last stretch .2 through Camden Yards was the hardest - it was nice to have the crowd there but I had no energy to thank them or respond at all. Just one foot in front of the other, keep going, almost there, that was all I could focus on. And cross the finish line.
What would you do differently?:

I don't think I drank enough, I need to stop at the water stations and get water or gatorade.
Post race
Warm down:

I collapsed into a chair and knew I shouldn't get up for a little while, I just was not feeling well. I may have pushed a little too hard. Jeff came and sat down next to me. I drank about half of his 24 ounce bottle of water. And then we sat for a while until I felt better, I had this horrible metallic taste in my mouth and my throat had sharp pains running through it, all I could think is that it might have been from my inhaler. Once I felt better we got up, grabbed a bunch of food, and sat down at ate. Then we cheered on some people who were still finishing and headed out.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My legs, I need to keep lifting weights to get them stronger, keep doing speed work at faster paces, my legs were not used to running at that pace for such a long time. Also, I need to drink more.

Event comments:

Enjoyed the race, lots of music, spectators dressed up in costumes, a couple beer stops, alot of people came out to show their support which made it really fun. And I like the under armour women's tech long sleeve tee, very nice!




Last updated: 2006-08-18 12:00 AM
Running
01:54:37 | 13.1 miles | 08m 45s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/353
Overall: 0/3869
Performance: Good
Didn't wear my HRM, didn't want to deal with the chaffing that it causes. But it turns out that the chaffing is from my sports bra b/c the chaffing was still really bad even without the HRM. Oh well. Splits: 9:35/9:15/8:25/8:34/8:49/8:50/8:49/8:41/8:56/8:22/8:27/8:50/9:04(1.1mi)
Course: First 3 are fairly flat, 3-8 is a gradual climb, nothing too bad, 8-the end is downhill except for one bridge climb
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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