Shamrock'n Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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West Sacramento, California
United States
Fleet Feet Sports, Sacramento
43F / 6C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 26m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at about 5:00, got up and had a couple of cereal bars, some coffee and water. Started getting a migraine, so I took some ibuprofen and decided to drive over anyway to pick up my stuff, at least. Drove to the venue, picked up my race packet & t-shirt (pretty nice shirt with not too much log, but it's black), then sat in the warm car for a bit. My head wasn't hurting too badly, so thought I'd start and play it by how I felt through the race. The course is a wonky figure 8, so I'd have a couple of opportunities to bail along the way ...
Event warmup:

Walked and jogged a bit, stood in line for bathroom, jogged a bit more, then stretched until start time.
Run
  • 00m
  • 13.1 miles
  •  min/mile
Comments:

I started out nice and easy with the 2:30 group, or just ahead of them. They caught me up around mile 4 because I was doing regular walk breaks, so my overall pace was a bit slower than 2:30. I started getting very hungry after about 45 minutes, because I didn't eat enough breakfast (probably about 100 calories). So, I started drinking the accelerade with water at each of the aid stations to get as many calories as possible (I didn't think to bring my one Luna bar with me, of course). But the accelerade helped a lot and I only got a belly ache when I didn't drink water with it one time.

It was a beautiful day and I very much enjoyed running back and forth over the river; I just wish I could have done it by myself, instead of with all these chattering wankers. I did enjoy the music and spectators, though, so I guess it was worth it. I started to fade at about 8 miles (my longest run before this), which I had expected. I just kept plugging along, one foot in front of the the other, and was able to pick up some and leave the 2:30's behind about mile 11-12. I haven't checked my splits yet, but every time I checked my watch in the last 2 miles I was under 10:00 mpm, so I'm happy with that. I didn't have much left at the end, so I think I ran it very well.
What would you do differently?:

Eat a better breakfast! I also think a warmer race might work better for me. We'll see in May, I guess, when I run my second half-marathon. Of course, I'll be better trained for that one, too, so it'll be hard to tell if it's the temperature or the training ...
Post race
Warm down:

Walked, walked, walked, stretched, ate, stretched, drove home, stretched, slept, laid on the couch.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training and migraine.

Event comments:

This is a fun race - all kinds showed up. It was crowded, but not obscenely so, just a bit uncomfortable at my pace. I'll probably do this one again as an early tune-up and to get me running in the early season.




Last updated: 2007-12-11 12:00 AM
Running
00:00:00 | 13.1 miles |  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: Pretty flat, just some overpasses and up and down onto the levies here and there. It was cold at the start, but started to warm up about 45-60 minutes in. My hands were freezing!
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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