Martian Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Dearborn Heights, Michigan
United States
Martian Marathon
45F / 7C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 13m
Overall Rank = 1126/1433
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 36/47
Pre-race routine:

Woke up got dressed, drank some orange juice. Drove over to the start of the race and got a picture taken with a captive Martian. Before heading over to the start line and lining up with a group of friends.
Event warmup:

Did not do it, decided that the first mile would do well enough.
Run
  • 2h 13m 4s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

I may have started a bit far back in the field but it felt good to have that almost mandatory slow down. The first loop around the campus was fun and it felt great. The aid stations were right about every 2 miles and that was great. Took ultima the first time, really did not mind the red stuff but the yellow was just gross. Was shocked when we got to the second aid station and there was GU on the course. I had figured that because Cliff was at the Expo that it would be Cliff products out on the course. At the second aid station there was a volunteer telling people that the bathrooms right there were locked and that there were porta pots in one mile. Got to mile five and there were still no porta pots in sight. Finally after another half mile they came into sight and I made my way to the substantial line. We lost about 4 minutes at this stop. Continued on well until the turn around. It was nice to know that you were more than half done at this turn around. Started running back in and fond that even though it did not feel like it we had been going downhill to that point and had to look forward to going back up those hills. At mile 10.5 had to stop again at the prota pot and lost more time. Then headed back on into the U of M Dearborn campus.
As for the run itself I really did not hit a wall. It felt ok with the exception of the canted road. The worst mile for me was mile 11 witch was uphill and was the fastest mile that I ran the entire race. The canting on the roads made my hip lock up about mile 12 but it released again somewhere in the nature reserve. I overall feel really good about my time and performance, the race was a 41 minute PR.
So over all the course was a good one and made it fairly easy to PR on it. The was a huge lack of porta johns but not a lack of aid stations with choices I could eat without having to choke down.
What would you do differently?:

Train more in advance for going out slow. Train more so that I can do longer runs than just 10 miles, I felt like I may have been able to go faster with more training under my belt. Maybe try to find some "friendly" bushes.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked a bit then tried to stretch out a bit. Then said good bye to the freinds that had finished right behind us and got changed to drive back to home(NY).

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Fitness, porta johns availability

Event comments:

Race was very well put together with the exception of the porta pot situation. The race would have gone much smoother for me had they opened up the bathrooms in the park or placed porta johns at each aid station. There are just some things that the Disney Races do right.




Last updated: 2008-02-21 12:00 AM
Running
02:13:04 | 13.1 miles | 10m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/47
Overall: 0/1433
Performance: Good
1+2: 19.46 3+4: 20.35 5+6: 20.24 7+8: 20.30 9+10: 20.30 11+12: 20.13 13+.1: 11:03 Whole Race: 2.13.04
Course: The course was an out and back inside a park. My biggest beef was the fact that the porta johns 5.5 miles into the race and then again at 10.5 miles. The course was for the most part kinda boring. There was the on ramp to Ford drive that was pot hole city and just a mess. The offramp from Ford onto Haines drive was really canted, even worse than down at Disney. Haines was a nice out and back, it was great to be able to see the leaders of the race going to the turn around. Then you were able to cheer for those behind you on the way back to U of M Dearborn. The trail through the nature reserve was a fun break from the monotones hills with dead looking trees. The bridge in the nauture reserve was a wake up call with how much it bounced. There was one pretty steep little bump that was about half a mile out from the finish that I really did not care too much for. Then about a quarter mile out there was this huge puddle that spanned the entire course that was a pain to get around. But the finish was great to be able to see for two tenths of a mile.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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] 3