National Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Washington, Washington, D.C.
United States
The Greater Washington Sports Alliance
60F / 16C
Precipitation
 		Total Time = 1h 49m 9s
Overall Rank = 156/1206
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 52/372
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4 am, got dressed, and ate a PB bagel at Brad and Kristin's. Hopped in the car and chatted with the gang until we got to the race site. K lead us to a money parking lot. Used the port-o-potty and hung around by the car until about 20 minutes before the race.
Event warmup:

Did one 0.8-mile loop around the stadium with Brad and Tim.
Run
  • 1h 49m 9s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

Started off close to the back of the race pack, just because of the timing we reached the race start. The gun went off, and I ended up walking a good 2-3 minutes before reaching the timing mat. Once I hit the mat, I started my watch, took a deep breath, and started weaving in an out of people. This is the first road race I have done with such a massive start (5,000 people), so my HR was pretty high right off of the bat, because I was so worried about getting around people.

I settled in to the run, and the first mile, I actually felt like I was going too slow. I had no clue that I actually did an 8:30/mile. I thought it was over 9 minutes. So, I was pleasantly surprised by the number, and decided to keep going at that pace/a bit faster and see how long I could keep it up.

Turns out, I could feel my body start to fatigue at mile 7. It got a little harder to run at that pace, but I steadied myself out and pushed on. It still felt comfortable, but my quads were getting a bit tight. At mile 11, my right hip started nagging at me, especially when I hit the biggest uphill on the course. The last 2 miles, I was aware of my hip, but was still able to keep a consistent pace until the end.

I took a GU every 30 minutes, drank 1 bottle of H20, and had 2 cups of Gatorade during the race. Nutrition was good.

I was disappointed that the course was long. Looking at my GPS watch, I kicked it up a bit too early. By the end of the course, I didn't have too much left for the final sprint down the shoot.
What would you do differently?:

Not worn sunglasses. It was too early, and overcast all morning. Ended up wearing them on top of my head and repositioning them all the time.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked to the food tent, grabbed a bottle of water and a bagel, and headed to the ART massage tent to get my free massage. The guy worked on my right hip quite a bit. He said I was really tight.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing, really.

Event comments:

No potties on the course. Luckily, I didn't have to go.

It was awesome to race with Tim, Brad, Kristin, and Ron. We all got to see each other once on the course, which makes it fun!




Last updated: 2007-03-30 12:00 AM
Running
01:49:09 | 13.1 miles | 08m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 52/372
Overall: 156/1206
Performance: Good
Course was long. Splits are from my GPS watch, which had the course at 13.37 miles. Mile 1: 8.30, HR 168 Mile 2: 7.59, HR 175 Mile 3: 8.08, HR 172 Mile 4: 8.17, HR 174 Mile 5: 8.17, HR 176 Mile 6: 8.17, HR 173 Mile 7: 8.27, HR 171 Mile 8: 8.21, HR 172 Mile 9: 8.33, HR 173 Mile 10: 8.05, HR 170 Mile 11: 8.28, HR 171 Mile 12: 8.17, HR 171 Mile 13: 8.00, HR 172 Mile 13.37: 2.59, HR 174
Course: http://www.nationalmarathon.com/maps.asp Started off flat and then rolling hills the rest of the way.
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4