Tallahassee Half Marathon - Run


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Tallahassee, Florida
United States
Gulf Winds Track Club
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 39m 45s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

I have had so little anxiety about this race and slept so well last night I forgot what I was supposed to do today when my alarm went off. That is so unusual. It's the first time I've ever slept well before a race. I got up at 5:30am, had coffee, got dressed and we left the house at 6:30am. Todd drove me and was my cheering squad. It was less than a 20 minute drive and I had no idea what parking would be like. Huge pleasant surprise that we parked less than 2 blocks away, there was plenty of parking.
Event warmup:

We sat in the car for a few minutes but then decided to get out and find the starting line which was downtown and outside of the Leon County Courthouse. And the lobby was open with INDOOR BATHROOMS. I've NEVER been to a race with indoor bathrooms. Or a place to wait indoors. I used the bathroom and then we waited in the (warm) lobby -- it was chilly outside to just be standing there -- it had rained overnight and was overcast and 55 degrees and super humid/drizzly. Being able to wait indoors and eat my peanut butter/honey sandwich was just awesome. About 7:15am we went outside and Todd went to the car to get my chapstick I forgot and I used the portapotty outside. Cleanest one I've ever seen (probably because everyone else went inside).

Got in line and someone sang the star spangled banner and then they played "Chariots of Fire" when the gun went off. That was a little weird. Not really "pump it up music." It's more "inspirational music that makes you sad" music.
Run
  • 2h 39m 45s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

I pretty much followed my plan, which was run straight through to mile 5, then walk a minute every mile. I had a GU at mile 5 and mile 9 and then 3 glucose tabs at mile 11, which really helped push me through to the end. I may have walked a little extra at mile 12, I can't really remember. I filled up my water bottles at the water stops, but drank while running and didn't stop to drink. Carson texted me at mile 7, that was sweet. Todd called me around mile 7 and told me he's be at mile 9 (he was). There was no sign posted at mile 10, so I ended up walking a couple of minutes at mile 10.5, I don't know why there was no sign.

This was also an AWESOME finish line! They were reading names of first time finishers off Iron Man style. Big big crowd in College Town and it had very much an Iron Man feel to the finish line, which was impressive for a small town race.

Another quick note: this was the first race I've done wearing an insulin pump. I turned down my basal rate to 50% an hour before it started and my blood sugar was awesome the entire way. Super happy about that.
What would you do differently?:

I can't think of anything! This was the smoothest race I've done. The fact it was local, I didn't have to get up at 3:30am, and there was a warm indoor waiting area helped me to feel really good when the starting gun went off.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around a minute looking for Todd but he was caught in traffic and ended up picking me up really fast around a corner. Drove home, showered, ate, and rolled out my legs.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hills.

Event comments:

I give this race two huge thumbs up. Most of my races have been in downtown Chicago, so I wasn't sure how a Tallahassee Race would be and I think I enjoyed it more than any race I did in Chicago.




Last updated: 2018-12-08 12:00 AM
Running
02:39:45 | 13.1 miles | 12m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: This was a hilly course and the first time I've run hills in a race. I was pleasantly surprised that the hills were on par with what I trained on and I felt great on them. I really enjoyed going through all of the neighborhoods in town and my favorite part was coming out from under an overpass right at Doak Campbell Stadium at FSU around mile 11. Finishing at College Town was great. The only downside to the course was the last mile was slightly uphill and on the super slanted shoulder/bike lane of a road. That was very uncomfortable just to stand up straight. Otherwise it was a great course, well marked and had plenty of volunteers directing traffic and runners.
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