Mercedes Half-Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Birmingham, Alabama
United States
Birmingham Marathon, Inc.
29F / -2C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 21m 23s
Overall Rank = 1717/2457
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 140/165
Pre-race routine:

Early morning shower and small bowl of granola and flax seeds. Drank a bottle of water and headed to the race with a small cup of coffee.
Event warmup:

Walked around for a bit, then dropped off my gear at the sweat-check table and went over to find a spot in the corrals.
Run
  • 2h 21m 23s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

I'm pretty happy with my run, considering I probably ran a total of 25 miles since October. I spent most of the time since then going in and out of various colds and sicknesses, so I've only been swimming and not running much at all. My 5-yr-old daughter ran more than I did getting ready for the Kids Marathon. Also, a big thanks to fellow BT'er benton4 for talking to me through the last couple of miles. It really made the time fly by.
What would you do differently?:

More hill training... no wait, just more actual training.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk to the car, drive to hotel, hug daughter, drink hot coffee, sit in shower.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training... although I do have to say that I'm in better shape than I thought, because I had very little pain or stiffness on Monday or Tuesday.

Event comments:

I had a lot of fun with this race, even though I showed up feeling like I had not studied for a tough final exam (you know that feeling, right?). I'm hoping that the course doesn't change for next year, because I'd like to do it again and compare my times.




Last updated: 2006-10-15 12:00 AM
Running
02:21:23 | 13.1 miles | 10m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 140/165
Overall: 1717/2457
Performance: Good
10:25, 10:01, 09:54, 10:27, 11:14, 12:35, 11:48, 11:43, 11:21, 10:48, 10:25, 09:54, 09:49, 00:59
Course: Counter-clockwise loop starting in downtown Birmingham. One long hill and a couple of short, steep ones, as well as a couple of steep downhill sections.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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] 4