March Madness Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Cary, Illinois
United States
hillstriders
26F / -3C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 1h 38m 17s
Overall Rank = 199/992
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 24/54
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 6:15. Had an espresso, bowl of oatmeal, walked the dog, and sent the admiral to sea. ;)

Finished packed up bag for the race, and then it was time to high tail it out of dodge!

Got the race, got a primo parking spot right in front of the school. Went in, picked up my race packet. Met up with Griz, his brother, dhesser, schmize, davidclough, steve-, Whizzzzz's sister and brother in law, HANGLOOSE, miss kelly, and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone. Basically, it was a big party.

Changed into my race gear.
Event warmup:

About 20 min before the start, took a gel with some water, a lost sip of heed, and then set out for about a mile warmup with Schmize. Hit the porta potty to pee one last time, then did a few strides to keep loose.

Lined up a few rows back from the front, waited for the gun to go off.
Run
  • 1h 38m 17s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 30s  min/mile
Comments:

Rocked my pre-race plan to a T. Held back for the first 6.5 miles, then blew the doors off all the way home. Negative split, with a net climb on the second half of the course. Very happy with how I stuck to the plan and pushed it hard when it came time to open up.

6.5 miles @ 7:34 pace, ahr 164, mhr 175 (hr was nerves, this was mostly downhill )
3.5 miles @ 7:20 pace, ahr 165, mhr 173 ( some big hills here! )
3.1 miles @ 7:20 pace, ahr 165, mhr 172 ( a few hills, but smaller )

Crushed my previous PR on this course by about 10 minutes. Yeah!!!!

Negative split. KABLAM!
What would you do differently?:

Probably could have pushed harder in a few spots, but recovering on the downhills a bit ( and still passing people! ) let me hammer the uphills.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around for a bit, met up with Whizzzzz who had my bag with dry clothes and recoverite bottle. Went into the gym at the school and stretched out.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing.

Event comments:

This is a well run, local race. This was the 30th anniversary year for the race, so they have it down to a science. The course is great, lots of volunteers and police out to control traffic.

The hills can be intimidating, but there's nothing unmanageable about them. For the first year, I wasn't dreading the hills.

This race is a permanent fixture on my schedule.




Last updated: 2008-03-06 12:00 AM
Running
01:38:17 | 13.1 miles | 07m 30s  min/mile
Age Group: 24/54
Overall: 199/992
Performance: Good
Course: Cary 1/2 Marathon Course.
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] 5