Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Virginia Beach, Virginia
United States
Elite Racing
85F / 29C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 2h 52m 41s
Overall Rank = 12404/16336
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 1456/1902
Pre-race routine:

The alarm went off at 4:30am and Jason, Chris, and I changed into our racing gear and downed bagels with peanut butter. I drank about three cups of water, grabbed my gear bag (which I had packed the night before), and we headed out around 5:15 to catch a shuttle to the convention center (start line). I downed another 1/4 bagel and a bottle of water and got in line for the port-a-potties.
Event warmup:

Jason and I went for a .5 mile jog around the parking long and then we said our goodbyes and headed to our corralls (cattle call). I turned my Garmin on when I got to my corrall and the thing was DEAD. I was so upset - I had charged it the night before and it just would not work.
Run
  • 2h 52m 41s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 13m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

I stayed on track for my goal time for the first three miles but the heat/humidity got the best of me and I knew that I would have to slow it down if I wanted to finish and be ok. It was very disheartening but I saw a lot of people on the side of the course getting medical attention so I knew that slowing it down would be best for me. After adjusting to the heat I really started to feel good (mile 5ish) and I just took my time and enjoyed the bands/people/atmosphere. I took my Nathan hand bottle with me and I finished a bottle of Gu2O and half of a Gu along the course - I also had about 5 cups of water total from the various aid stations.
What would you do differently?:

I should have thought about the heat/humidity and how it would affect me before I even started running (it was really brutal). I think that if I would have gone out slowly in the beginning then I could have really picked up the pace at the end (there was a great breeze which cooled things down towards the end).
Post race
Warm down:

I got my gear bag from the UPS truck, found Jason, and stretched out on the beach. I drank another bottle of water, ate a popsicle and a small bag of popcorn cakes, and then we walked back to the hotel. After lots of stretching and showering, we headed out to get some yummy pizza for lunch.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The heat and humidity. It sucked.

Event comments:

This is my third year running in this race and although I am not a fan of the new course, I love how everything is put together and it makes for a very fun weekend. My friends and I are already planning on coming back next year. :)




Last updated: 2008-03-12 12:00 AM
Running
02:52:41 | 13.1 miles | 13m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 1456/1902
Overall: 12404/16336
Performance: Average
Course: The course was nice and flat. They changed it from the previous years and instead of having us run all the way down Atlantic Avenue and then back up the boardwalk, we had to run a few miles through the military base and then we only ran less than a mile on the boardwalk. I am not a fan of the new course - we were literally running in circles around the base and it was very annoying.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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