Tour de Fleurs - Run20k


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Dallas, Texas
United States
74F / 23C
Overcast
 		Total Time = 1h 50m 19s
Overall Rank = 194/747
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 20/48
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 5:30am to attempt to get a parking space. Had a redbull and a granola bar and hit the road. Got there plenty early and parked at the YMCA and rode the freezing cold shuttle to the start. Race check in was a little chaotic...but this is the inaugural year for this race, so it was nothing I didn't expect.
Event warmup:

Did a little stretching, but no real warmup.
Run
  • 1h 50m 19s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 08m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

The run was hot and humid right from the start, so trouble keeping cool. There were the occasional windy spots around the lake as always, but they felt great today. Started off at a decent pace, but fell off of it at about mile 7 when I realized that due to the heat I really over did it on the fluids. So I cut the fluids out completely for the rest of the course...other than a few cups of water I poured on my head to cool down. Though I did get some nasty stomach cramps that lasted through until about mile 10. After that I felt much better and was able to finish the race without cramps. My main concern today was my anke, I suffered a severe sprain and broke my tibia last December at SunMart. Before the race I kept telling my sister I couldn't tell if my ankle hurt or if it was a mental thing. Appearantly it was just mental, absolutely no problems along the course and it doesnt seem to be sore now...so that is a very good sign. This was my first run longer than about 5 miles since December. My time was much slower than I would normally be happy with. I have not done a long run in a while, but all I wanted to do today was a decent long run to get me past my mental block...so mission accomplished.
What would you do differently?:

DRINK LESS POWERADE!!!
Post race
Warm down:

Walked back out onto the course a little bit after slamming large quanitities of water to cheer my sister on to the finish. Did some stretching, but did not feel very tight, so not much. Headed home for a quick shower and then to Chick-Fil-A to redeem the free milk shake coupon that was in our race packet...Mmmm...free milk shake!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I am way out of practice with properly hydrating myself for long runs...or any runs for that matter since I had an involuntary 8 month vacation from running. I have a lot of work to do to get my speed and endurance back to where it was, but I feel ready for the challenge. Just glad to be back.

Event comments:

I enjoyed this course and would definelty do it again...I mean they gave out odor repelling dry fit race shirts, thats pretty much all I need to be hooked!




Last updated: 2006-09-23 12:00 AM
Running
01:50:19 | 12.43 miles | 08m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 20/48
Overall: 194/747
Performance: Below average
Course: The course started at the Dallas Arboretum on White Rock Lake. The majority of the course was around the lake, and some of it was in the surrounding neighborhoods. If you have ever done the Dallas Half or the White Rock Marathon then you would be very familiar with the course. There were several good hills on the course. Water and Powerade was readily available every 2 miles or so. The course guides were great and navigating the course was no problem...aside from a few Kamakaze cyclists who were hell bent on getting a fast ride in on the same course.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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] 4