Sarasota Marathon Grouper Run - Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Sarasota, Florida
United States
Sarasota Marathon
65F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 58m 25s
Overall Rank = 396/1484
Age Group = F30-34
Age Group Rank = 20/104
Pre-race routine:

1 bag of Oatmeal, 4-6oz of coffee, 10oz sport's drink, 1 packet of Chocolate Power Bar Gel.
Event warmup:

1/2 mile walk from the car to the start line and a stop at the Port-A-John. :o)
Run
  • 1h 58m 25s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

Foggy, sticky morning! Warmest morning all winter @ about 65F and 95-100% humidity at race start.

My very first 1/2 marathon! Goal was to break 2 hours... and I did! Very happy!

I pretty much stayed with the 2 hour pacer until the last 1.5 miles when I jumped in front of her (using what little reserve I had left).

With a 6AM start, the first 3 - 4 miles of the race was run in the dark, so that was a little tricky. I couldn't really see my Garmin, so I just followed the pacing balloons.

Miles 6 and miles 8 mark the Ringling Bridge. The effects of that bridge threw me off for a bit. It's a rather steep, long one. Miles 11 & 12 were by far the most difficult mile for me. I wanted to walk so many times during those two miles that I lost count; however, I knew that if I stopped, I might not start up again.

I did well with nutrition. Had been drinking Grape CL + 1/2 Camelbak Elixer tab the day before and really upped my salt intake starting about 3 days before. Morning of the race was a packet of oatmeal, approx. 4 oz of coffee, and 12oz of Gu2O. I had a packet of Power Bar Gel Chocolate about 10 minutes before the start with some more Gu2O. I took in Gatorade at every Aid Station except for the mile 7 station where I had a Vanilla Power Bar gel + water. For as much as I was sweating, I felt hydrated enough.

I feel very happy with my performance. 1:58 is a super time to start out with as a base for the 1/2 marathon. I definitely think I can improve over the next year in preparation for the Philly 1/2 in November. I would like to be able to drop approx. 1 min/mile off my pace for that race. The cooler, dryer weather in the NE in November should also help. :o)
What would you do differently?:

At this point, nothing. With only 1 year of running under my belt, the only thing that is going to get me faster and even more comfortable is time and training.

Wear racers with stability support; the LunarTrainers are great for short races, but I need the stability for the longer races... thank you blisters!
Post race
Warm down:

A hobbling walk to the medical tent to take care of the 3 blisters I developed.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Humidity and blisters

Event comments:

A great first 1/2 marathon. Started exactly on time; pace groups and corrals were provided. Lots of friendly volunteers with Gatorade that wasn't watered down (THANK YOU)!




Last updated: 2009-02-16 12:00 AM
Running
01:58:25 | 13.1 miles | 09m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 20/104
Overall: 396/1484
Performance: Good
Course: Flat with 2 gentle rolling hills and the up/back John Ringling Causeway Bridge at miles 5.5 and 7.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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] 4