St. Jude Memphis Half-Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Memphis, Tennessee
United States
45F / 7C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 1h 57m 55s
Overall Rank = 1452/5768
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 83/553
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 6, ate 2 packets of oatmeal, drank a Diet Coke and 24 oz. Heed (not together ... this isn't some new Laverne milk and pepsi deal). Jammed a bunch of Vitamin C tablets down my throat along with Race Caps and other meds. Went downstairs to see what the weather was like and decided my l/s shirt and shorts were absolutely spot on as far as apparel.
Event warmup:

Ran over to the race, found a spot to do a few strides, a few more minutes of running and it was basically time to get into my corral for the start. Perfect timing.
Run
  • 1h 57m 55s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m  min/mile
Comments:

The cold didn't really start to bother me until I got to miles 10 and 11. These were mostly uphill runs and by then the schnots had returned. I ran this course HARD. I hurt after I crossed the finish line and stopped. I might have been a wee bit faster without the cold and a better night's sleep but I pounded this one out. I kept seeing the words "You can do this" from Coach Brett's training plan and that kept me motivated the whole time. Come hell or high water, I was finishing in under 2.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Some things you just can't foresee. Like getting a cold the day before. I brought more gel with me out on the course and drank more water than I normally would have to compensate. Honestly, this was a perfectly executed race for me. Except for trying to find Frank and Jack afterward. That was a PITA.
Post race
Warm down:

PICTURE WITH ELVIS!!!! I'm all shook up over that. I was a little naseous afterward so just water. I brought bananas back with me to the hotel.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Schnots. And hills. Here's the link to the page with the course layout.

http://www.stjudemarathon.org/marathon.htm

Event comments:

Great race for a half marathon, at least in my opinion. I don't have enough hills to train on locally to make a full mary a good idea there. Great town to visit. The people of Memphis were just lovely.




Last updated: 2007-11-26 12:00 AM
Running
01:57:55 | 13.1 miles | 09m  min/mile
Age Group: 83/553
Overall: 1452/5768
Performance: Good
Hit lap button instead of start so I'm missing .4 mi ... whatever. Here's the skinny: 1.6 mi @ 8:50 ahr 158 .99 mi @ 8:57 ahr 160 1.03 mi @ 8:47 ahr 162 1.03 mi @ 8:44 ahr 162 1.01 mi @ 8:47 ahr 165 1.01 mi @ 8:52 ahr 167 1.0 mi @ 8:53 ahr 167 1.02 mi @ 9:21 ahr 168 (hills, glorious hills ...also stopped to pee) 1.01 mi @ 8:56 ahr 171 1.01 mi @ 9:02 ahr 170 1.01 mi @ 9:17 ahr 171 (walked the uphills and there were plenty) 1.0 mi @ 8:42 ahr 173 .13 mi @ 7:48 ahr 179 (finished in minor league baseball stadium ...cool!)
Course: Hilly ... I think it was described as relatively flat but I think that description is relative. If you're from Northern Illinois, that course was freakin' hilly. But really nice. TONS of spectators. Bands along the course. Aid stations every mile. Way impressive.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4