City of Angels Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Los Angeles, California
United States
60F / 16C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 1h 40m 55s
Overall Rank = 310/3650
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 53/290
Pre-race routine:

Nice to race in a local event. Out the door at 5:30 after some water and a Clif bar. Made my way downtown in about 15 minutes. The city looked great, quiet and tranquil, but still nicely illumintaed. Hopped one of the school buses which took us to the start at Griffith Park. Chilly temps (for SoCal), even after the sun made its first appearance. Hit the port-a-potties, did some stretching, downed a banana and some Clif blocks while milling in the start area. Got to see some Native-American dancers perform a number of traditional dances on the stage. Met up briefly with GolfMark as we were assembling at the start line.
Event warmup:

Did a bit of stretching and some light jogging to get some blood moving. Brrrrrrr.
Run
  • 1h 40m 55s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 42s  min/mile
Comments:

I haven't run a stand alone half marathon for almost 10 years. This was a PR by more than eight minutes. Was hoping to finish around 1:50, but the course was fast, and my legs felt relatively fresh throughout. Hit mile 6 at 47:53. Hit mile 12 at 1:33:16 (45:23). Ran the last 1.1 miles in 7:40. (Pretty close to 7:00 for the last mile, I'd think.) Steady, controlled building was the key for me today. Felt a bit of lead in my legs after mile 11, but never really felt taxed aerobically. Was kind of stunned by the way my cadence remained consistent and by my ability to pass other runners steadily over the whole course. It was MUCH too fast for marathon training, but I felt good, and it was one of the best runs of my life. Figured I'd just go for it when I saw my 10K split, and things went well for me thereafter.
What would you do differently?:

I was planning to run this one more conservatively. It was supposed to be "just a training run," but I just felt too good not to push it, and really, I'm glad I did. No pain whatsoever in my knees, so I guess my base training has paid off. Obviously, I'll need to be SO MUCH SMARTER in order to finish the L.A. Marathon in March, but for today it felt great to open up and let my legs spin.
Post race
Warm down:

Some water, bananas, cookies, stretching.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I had more in the bank for a sprint finish, but I left most of it out there today. I wonder what a deeper base will do for me?

Event comments:

We got a late start, owing to the difficulties of transporting all of the racers to the start, but this was a very well organized event on the whole, particulalrly in light of the fact that it was the inaugural running. By far, the most fun I've had running in the city of L.A. Thank you to the organizers and volunteers.




Last updated: 2006-11-08 12:00 AM
Running
01:40:55 | 13.1 miles | 07m 42s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/290
Overall: 0/3650
Performance: Good
Course: Best LA run course I've encountered. Fast and very scenic. First 5 miles in Griffith Park, then down through Echo Park and Silver Lake, before heading into downtown. Large finish area directly in front of City Hall. Depsite living here for more than 15 years, I'm not really a huge fan of this city. Today, though, was amazing, and it changed the way I feel about living and running in Los Angeles. Sunny, blue skies and cool temps with nice folks dotting the course and decent crowds downtown.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too easy
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5