Mercedes Half-Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Birmingham, Alabama
United States
Birmingham Marathon, Inc.
50'sF / 0C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 1h 50m 10s
Overall Rank = 511/2666
Age Group = M 25-29
Age Group Rank = 58/158
Pre-race routine:

Stayed in Fultondale which is 11 miles from the race start. Up at 4:30am to eat breakfast and shower. Left hotel at 5:50 to get good lparking at the race.
Event warmup:

Walked around a little bit.
Run
  • 1h 50m 11s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

Plans were 150-160 HR for the first five miles, then 160-170 for miles 6 through 10 and then hammer the last 5K. Started in the 9:00 mile coral and took it easy till mile 6. At mile six there is a long climb up a hill. I was out of HR zone for mile six, I felt fine and had good turn over. There were lots of people out cheering on this section of the race and there was a drum line at the top of the hill. Split for first 10K 54:49, 8:51/mile. The next few miles were rolling hills, till you got to mile 10. At mile 10 there is a pretty long hill with a few steep sections. The worst part of the course is the long trip down the mountain. After the trip down, the course is pretty much flat. My splits for the last three miles were 7:02/mile (avg. HR 178), 7:28/mile (avg. HR 184) and 7:04/mile (avg. HR 181).
What would you do differently?:

Drink more fluid.
Post race
Warm down:

Got finishers medal and t-shirt. Found Amanda, walked around and watched some of the finishers.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Years of training.

Event comments:

This course was a challenge. The race was ran very well and there were tons of spectators and supporters on the course. Also there is a chance to win a Mercedes SUV at the awards ceramony. I will do this race again next year.




Last updated: 2008-01-23 12:00 AM
Running
01:50:11 | 13.1 miles | 08m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 58/158
Overall: 511/2666
Performance: Good
See picture below
Course: Course was flat till mile 5. Then there were two rather long hills with a bunch of rollers in between. The last down hill was the worse part.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5