Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon - RunMarathon


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Minneapolis, Minnesota
United States
Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 00m 24s
Overall Rank = 6421/
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 411/515
Pre-race routine:

Decent sleep. Woke at 6:00. Drank my pre-race cocktail of Spark and Muscle Fuel and took glutamine, strength and O2 Gold tabs.
Event warmup:

Alone with my nasty thoughts, I stretched a little and broke a sweat ruminating whether I had enough miles under my belt to do this or was I going to be revealed as a fraud and, god forbid, DNF..! Had I tapered and rested early enough...?
Run
  • 5h 00m 24s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 11m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

All in all I am pleased to finish the race but I think with greater run specific prep and a better taper my time could have been better. I did not do a great number of weekly miles leading up to the race. Was hoping cross-training for my triathlon season would carry me. I finished so I guess it did. :-) Ran a half ironman in mid-September followed by one long run (19 1/2 miles) and a couple 12-14 milers in the 14 days before tapering for a week leading up to the race. Guess I broke the 10% mileage increase trainiing rule I read about. Also did some yard work on Saturday getting ready for entertaining company after the race. So I guess I could have rested a bit more. Regardless, that's my story...I got 'er done and a great time was had by all! So I'm happy!
What would you do differently?:

More miles and faster interval/pace runs during the tri season. Three week taper and better rest the week before and especially the day before the race. No post-race entertaining either... ;-) Too stressful!!!
Post race
Warm down:

Stumbled around for 10 minutes until I got my gear and found my family. Then I walked the half mile to the car and went home to stand in front of a grill and ache for 90 minutes cooking bbq at a post-race party my gal and I hosted for friends and family...

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Quads felt ok but all my jointd on my entire left side began cramping at about 19 miles. Felt like I had a hip pointer that made me walk and stretch most of the last 10K.

Event comments:

Completed my first Marathon! Yeah!!! Other than a bit of a disappointment with my time (4:30 goal) and lingering pains in my ankles ( high sprains, stress fractures...?) Anyway, I finished so I really can't complain. The race was a hoot, the volunteers wonderful, and the event organization exceptional. Lord willing, I will be back!




Last updated: 2006-10-20 12:00 AM
Running
05:00:24 | 26.2 miles | 11m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 411/515
Overall: 6421/
Performance: Below average
HR was great and well within my zone for a strong finish. I normally finish stronger but my body could not keep up with my cardio today...
Course: Never realized the-last-10K-was-all-straight-uphill! Well,... it felt like it was...
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %3%
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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