Martian Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Dearborn Heights, Michigan
United States
Martian Marathon
36F / 2C
Overcast
 		Total Time = 1h 47m 40s
Overall Rank = 460/
Age Group = 30-34F
Age Group Rank = 22/147
Pre-race routine:

Made some bad mathmatical errors when it came to figuring out what time to wake up, so we were rushed the whole morning. We didn't have our usual Kashi breakfast on hand, so we went with whole wheat bagels and jam (and a banana that I accidentally left on the kitchen counter, uneaten). Got to Dearborn with about 15 minutes to spare by the time we parked. Decided to use the bathrooms by the expo instead of the portapotties - this turned out to be a bad mistake. Ran into a friend in the building who advised us to use the upstairs bathrooms...and let's just say that no lights + an overflowing toilet + wading through toilet water in the dark + no tp = no fun. Eric's side was no better and girls were taking over the men's room while he was in there...I heard one of them say, "we all look the same in the dark"... :)
Event warmup:

Warmed up with a frantic run to the start line just in time to hear the gun go off before we got in the chute. HR was just a little crazy.
Run
  • 1h 47m 40s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

Couldn't get into a good rythym for the first 3 miles...I was really glad that Eric just decided to pace with me instead of going for a PR. My HR was high and I just didn't feel right. I had bypassed the first aid station (only 12 minutes in), but got a little too thirsty by the time we got to the next one. Probably had on one too many layers, so I was sweating pretty good.

Finally started feeling better after the second aid station, and kept up a pretty good pace after that. Got to see some friends at the turnaround...that always helps. Tried to pick up the pace for the last 4 miles, but I was pretty maxed out. The one short steep hill on the path (mile 11-ish?) felt really tough and the bridges could've made me vomit if they were any longer. That was the weirdest sensation.

I was just hoping to beat 1:51 for a qualification into a seeded corral at Chicago this fall, so I was very happy with 1:47. A PR by more than 6 minutes!
What would you do differently?:

Uhhh...wake up earlier and not feel crazy rushed. Go with the portapotty over wading through toilet water.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around a bit, stretched a little, found most of our Saturday run group, and a few BTers. Grabbed breakfast with some of our run group.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Still haven't figured out the shin problem yet, doc appt. tomorrow. Maybe a little dehydrated.

Event comments:

My first Martian! Pretty good overall...they could've used more aid station volunteers. A couple times we had to come to a complete stop and get the drinks off the table ourselves. Glad the weather held out for us!




Last updated: 2009-02-19 12:00 AM
Running
01:47:40 | 13.1 miles | 08m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 22/147
Overall: 147/
Performance: Good
Course: Mostly flat through Dearborn and onto Hines Dr.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4