Virginia Beach RNR 1/2 Marathon - Run


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Virginia Beach, VA
United States
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 08m 21s
Overall Rank = 6004/
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 546/1909
Pre-race routine:

I got a decent amount of sleep the night before the race. I went to bbed around 10pm. I drank a glass of Ener-Gen-C the night before becasue I had been previously suffering from a sore throat. I had my alarm set for 4:45am and didn't have a problem getting out of bed. I had prepared the night before to save time in the morning. My chip was already on my shoe, my BIB number pinned on my running tank, and my gels found their home in the pockets of my stylish LD shorts. The LD shorts are probably the ugliest shorts I have ever seen (with all those pockets) but darn it- they are so practical and I can't live without them! I woke up, got dressed, and ate a wheat bagel with peanut butter. I drank some water for breakfast to wash down the bagel. My friends and I got some pre race pictures taken, and then left our cabins to catch the shuttle. We were trold that the only shuttle would be picking us runners up at 6am, but had decided to get to the stop a little early. It was a good thing we did because the shuttle was 10 minutes early. Just as we were walking up the bus pulled up. Tlak about a close call! We would have been in trouble if we missed it becasue they were closing the roads at 6am for the race, and we wouldn't have been able to get to the start. As soon as got to the race start we checked our bags. We made sure to bring all of our beach stuff with us because we had planned on hanging out on the beach after the race. After checking our bags, we got in line for the porta-potties. As a normal pre-race tradition, as soon as we finished going to the bathroom we started walking closer to the corrals, and got back in line for the porta-potties again. Of course we didn't have to go right away, but the lines were long and we knew that by the time we got to the front of them we'd have to go again. After surviving the nasties, stinkiest ports-potties, we started walking to our corrals. I made sure to take a few bite sout of my Snickers Marathon bar and take some sips Gatorade before I had to pitch it! I was in a different corral than my friends and we soon parted. I kind of wanted to run with them because it would be more fun, but I also wanted to start in my assigned corral and see how well I would do. I had been having some crappy training runs and wanted to see if I could do better. So I decided to head on over to my corral and meet them at the finish. It was boring standing there by myself and I started to wonder if I would be able to run alone. As I entered my corral a volunteer was passing out salt packets- I took one, thinking I woudln't need it but it would be good to have. I didn't wait too long before my corral was released.
Event warmup:

None- just walking to the corrals.
Run
  • 2h 08m 21s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 48s  min/mile
Comments:

I wasn't sure what pace I was running. My goal was to run under 10 min miles and I didn't want to start off too fast. I was right behind the 2:07 pacer and my goal was to hang with him. I passed the first mile marker running at a comfortable pace- 9:51. My goal was to keep that pace and have the 2:07 pacer in site. By mile 2 I was completely drenched with sweat and was thirtsy. I almost wished I would have run with my own small water bottle. I couldn't wait for the first water station. I took an Acclerade gel at mile 3, and then another one at mile 7. There was a beer stop between mile 5 and 6, and I gladly grabbed a paper cup and took a few sips. The beer (not sure what kind) tasted sooo good because it was cold. I was worried it would upset my stomach, but had no problems. After mile 6, I lost the 2:07 pace guy. I figured my finish time would be 2:08 and I could live with that. The water station at mile 7 didn't have any amino vital- I really needed some and found myself really struggling around mile 8. I was looking forward to the next water station and mile 10, which had powergels available. I got to the 15K point, and my split was pretty close to a 15K I had run last year. I was feeling confident that I wasn't burn out and I could finish with the pace I was at. I got to mile 10 and didn't see any powergels in site. I began to panic- I really needed another gel and knew I shouldn't have counted on them haivng any. But once I ran a little bit further the gels were around mile 10.5. I wasn't feeling too hot, and ran past the volunteers in desperation wispering "tangerine". It was the last stop on the right, and I thankfully grabbed the double caffeintated gel and slammed it. Just knowing I had taken it made me mentally stronger. Once I had gotten on the boardwalk I knew I was in the home stretch. The last 2 miles seemed like an eternity- it was really hot running along the beach on the boardwalk. The boardwalk was concrete (not wood) and wasn't feeling too good on my feet. I tried to kick it the last mile because I really wanted to run under 2:10, which was my last 1/2 marathon best time. I skipped the water station- my mouth was dry, but I only had about a 1/2 mile left and knew I would be ok. I crossed the finish line at 2:08:21 and was so happy. I hadn't trained for this race at all. I incorporated some long runs into my 1/2 IM training, and the longest run I did was a 10 miler- only once.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing- maybe push myself harder because I feel like I could have run faster. I hydrated and carbo loaded really good 2 days before the race, so I think that helped since it was really hot and I never felt like I bonked.
Post race
Warm down:

None- I walked to the beach to meet friends, drank an amio vital, ate a protein bar, laid on the beach, drank a beer, went in the ocean. We hung out at he beach for awhile, and then grabbed lunch at a resturant along the boardwalk. I ended up ordering a cheesebuger with fries- they didn't have burritos on the menu or I would have gotten one!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Maybe not having someone run with me to push me a little more. I could have porbably ran faster but didn't know what my limitatios were and wanted to finish feeling good.

Event comments:

This race was fun- the best part was ending on the beach to hang out. The only thing I didn't like about it was the after the finish . We had to walk FOREVER to get our chips removed, get our medals, and pick our bags from bag check in. And then, they had free Spenco flip flops they were giving away for free. To get them, you had to go through the food line. The line was a mile long- no kidding. It was ridiculous. I got a pair of them at the Nashville Country Music 1/2 Marathon so I didn't bother for a second pair. I was more irritated that I coudln't get to the food wihtout having to wait in the long line. So I just decided to settle for a protein bar I had packed with me. I had a great race and was happy with how I ran- I ran y 1/2 marathon PR at the race! Can't wait to try and beat it later this season!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2005-06-03 12:00 AM
Running
02:08:21 | 13.1 miles | 09m 48s  min/mile
Age Group: 546/1909
Overall: 6004/
Performance: Good
Splits (avg. pace/mile) 1 mile= 9:51 2 miles= 9:40 3 miles= 9:46 4 miles= 9:45 miles= 9:48 6 miles= 9:35 7 miles= 9:30 8 miles= 10:02 9 miles= 9:52 10 miles= 9:54 11 miles= 10:03 12 miles= 10:10 13 miles= 9:28 13.1 miles= 54.19
Course: The course was pretty flat. I think around mile 2 we ran over an overpass but it wasn't bad at all. The beginning of the race was pretty shaded, but after mile 8 or so we were running in the downtown area which was extremely hot. The last few miles were on a concrete boardwalk and it was VERY hot. I was glad I had sunglasses and a visor because I really needed them! Some people were standing in front of their houses with hoses to spray us with, but I made sure to dodge the water. As nice as it would have felt, I didn't want my socks or shoes to get drenched and have to worry about blistering.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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