Little Rock Marathon - RunMarathon


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Little Rock, Arkansas
United States
Little Rock Marathon
50sF / 0C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 29m 9s
Overall Rank = 106/1386
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 15/113
Pre-race routine:

Staying at the Holiday Inn Presidential in Downtown Little Rock had its good & bad points. We were 5 blocks from the start but there wasn't any place to eat pre-race. Hotels still haven't figured out the need to eat early the day of the race. Ended up eating 5 packets of instant oatmeal, a banana & an apple with a cup of joe. Didn't leave our room until about 45 minutes before the race. Very relaxing, no driving & hunting for parking, well worth the expense.
Event warmup:

Walked down to the start, cheered the early starters as they passed our hotel around mile 6.5. Took shelter in a hotel next to the start until about 10 minutes prior to the start. Stretched but didn't run at all until the gun. Had a gel 15 minutes before the start.
Run
  • 3h 29m 9s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 07m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

The objective of this race was to quailify for Boston. My only goal was to cross the line at 3:30 or less. I didn't train to go any faster than that. In fact most of my training runs were workshops in how to keep an 8:00 pace. In that effort I planned to run with the 3:30 pace group. I was also lucky to have Jacob (tribullbutter) run with me to help pace. Since he already punched his Boston ticket with a 3:06 at White Rock in December, this was a relatively relaxing run for him.

My training had been hampered by a few injuries. My longest run was 19 miles 2 weeks prior & I hadn't felt very good since. So I was concerned what the race would bring. I didn't know what to expect until I started running. Foretunately, those injuries never bothered me during the race.

The weather was cloudy & it was quite humid. We started out faster than I expected. The terrain varied quite a bit the first 6 miles as the splits showed. I started out with arm warmers but pulled them down after 2 miles. Since we were going to run past the hotel, Jacob took our arm warmers & ran into the hotel to drop them off at the front desk. He caught back up fairly quickly.

I had almost a minute in the bank by the half split. But the next 3 miles were going to be the hardest. At that time, I thought if I could make it to mile 16, I could make it to the finish. We gave back about 30 seconds those 3 miles. I was surprised it was only that much. Our pace group shrank considerably during that time, down to about 6 or 8. At mile 16 we ran downhill for over a mile. I held back going down & it was tough. Once we leveled out we had about 2 1/2 miles out to the turnaround before heading to the finish. After 18 I started cramping in my right thigh & calf. The next 2 miles were the worse. I was starting to have doubts. HR was fine, but the humidity was starting to affect me. I am a heavy sweater & if I don't have electrolyte replacement, I tend to not bonk but crash. I think I started hallucinating. The hairs on my arms looked so vivid, like I was looking at them through a microscope. I started drinking as much gatorade as I could. By the time we reached the turnaround, I felt much better.

The last 5 miles I focused on the next step. By this time I don't think we had but 1 or 2 others in our pace group. The 2 pacers were very heplful with motivation. Jacob being there in the front kept me going. At that time I wasn't going to let him down. At 22 we had 20 seconds in the bank. That didn't sound like enough but we kept a steady pace the next 3 miles. I dug deep to get over the last hill at mile 25. Once I caught my breath, I bid the 2 pacers goodbye & thanked them for all the help and Jacob & I ran as fast as we could to the finish. It seemed like it was a sub 7 minute pace. We just wanted to be done. Jacob kept counting down the distance. We went past 3 different people who told us, "1/2 mile to go!" That was a long 1/2 mile! We crossed the line with 51 seconds to spare. Mission accomplished.
What would you do differently?:

Taken salt tablets. I carried a 16 oz bottle of endurance at the start. That proably saved me.
Post race
Warm down:

Waited 30 seconds for the pace group to finish. I think it was just the pacers at that time. Grabbed our huge finisher's medal & went for a beer. Walked back to the hotel.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I didn't want to go any faster. But I was hoping I would feel good enough to go faster, I didn't. So lack of salt/electrolyte replacement limited my ability.

Event comments:

Good course, great volunteers. Only drawback was the post race party didn't start till 4:00pm. Tough to stick around for that when you have a 5 hr drive home.




Last updated: 2008-12-29 12:00 AM
Running
03:29:09 | 26.2 miles | 07m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 15/113
Overall: 106/1386
Performance: Good
Avg HR 142 10k: 49:15, Half: 1:44:08 Mile splits 1) 7:52 2) 7:42 3) 8:03 4) 7:54 5) 8:22 6) 7:38 7) 8:03 8) 7:56 9) 7:58 10) 8:03 11) 7:58 12) 7:53 13) 7:53 14) 8:07 15) 8:16 16) 8:00 17) 7:54 18) 7:55 19) 8:01 20) 8:00 21) 8:02 22) 8:03 23) 8:00 24) 7:57 25) 8:06 26) 7:54 26.2) 1:37
Course: Winding thru central Little Rock till mile 13; then climbing west to the Heights area, a really nice neighborhood. At mile 16 you drop straight down to the riverfront. The remainder is flat except for one last bump at the end of mile 25. Great spectator course. We saw several people multiple times. The terrain varied until mile 13 then it was up all the way till 16. Finish was at the riverfront downtown.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5