Dallas White Rock Marathon - Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Dallas, Texas
United States
43F / 6C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 47m 27s
Overall Rank = 665/5156
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 77/362
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 6AM and was showered and ready to go by 6:30. I had two pieces of toast and a cup of coffee (see run comments RE: how much to eat). We arrived at the race area at about 8AM and had an hour to warm up.
Event warmup:

Thankfully I had plenty of time to use the restroom before the race. I've made the mistake of not leaving myself enough time in previous races and that is not a pleasant experience.

Joe, John and I had a nice starting position at the front of the pack. We were in the front left which allowed the faster racers to pass us on the inside.

The weather was cold and windy so we did a lot of stetching and jumping around to try and stay warm.
Run
  • 1h 47m 27s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 12s  min/mile
Comments:

I could tell in the first few miles that this was not going to be a great run. I felt ok, but I just knew that I didn't have "it" today.

I tried to keep pace with Joe, and was able to through about mile 5, but he ultimately pulled away. I decided to try and settle into a pace that felt comfortable and just focus on running the best race I could.

The crowd was just ok, but that's understandable considering the temperature outside. I knew that I had some friends on the course to cheer me on at about mile 6, so that kept my spirits up through the hills. Thank you Angie, Neal, Christie and Jill. I apologize if I missed anyone, you guys were the ones that I noticed.

The next 6+ miles were pretty tough for me. I knew that the course was an overall descent after the halfway point, but I didn't feel the benefit.

By mile 10 I was feeling hungry and was worried that I was going to run out of gas. I could see downtown, but it sure wasn't getting close as quickly as I wanted it to. I need to eat more before the race to make sure that I have enough energy.

I reached the mile 12 point and there was a good crowd. They were loud and all I could hear was "One more mile!"

Just one more mile ...

That was the longest mile I've ever run. I kept thinking that I would see the finish around the next bend, but didn't. I decided to keep my eyes down and just focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

Finally I reached the finish and I pushed as hard as my body would allow. I heard Lisa and her mom yelling my name, so I threw my hands up for a picture.

I crossed the line and was so thankful that the race was over. I was exhaused and pretty dizzy. I rested for a moment and a volunteer handed me a heat retaining blanket.

I continued up the ramp and saw Joe looking for me. We exchanged finishing times (he finished in 1:44:04 ... an excellent pace) and I recieved my medal and took my finisher's picture.

What would you do differently?:

Eat more.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank some water and ate some food.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of energy past mile 10. I wasn't able to get that last push that I wanted.

Event comments:

I was really happy with my pace. When I started training last summer, my goal was to run a 9 minute mile pace. That would put me at the finish just under two hours.

My best training run was 8:05/mile pace, so I wanted to be around that pace coming into the race. All things considered, I'm very happy with my race ... especially since this was my first half marathon.




Last updated: 2007-09-17 12:00 AM
Running
01:47:27 | 13.1 miles | 08m 12s  min/mile
Age Group: 77/362
Overall: 665/5156
Performance: Good
5 mile - 40:27 8 mile - 1:05:33 11 mile - 1:31:18
Course: Sight overall incline with a couple of significant hills in the first half of the course. The last half was mainly on a slight decline.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4