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Quad Cities Half Marathon
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Quad Cities Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon
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Comments: I kept about an 11;30 pace for most of the race, taking a one minute walk break every mile. The big hill at mile 2 was manageable but it bothered my leg (where I have the contusion from a bike accident) and toward the top of the hill, the hamstring on that leg started doing that oh-so-unpleasant balling up in a knot thing. It was pissing me off, I couldn't believe I would have trouble so early in a race. Found that by keeping my toes pointed slightly inward, I could ward off the cramping. Every now and then it would sieze. ugh... Around mile 6 I stopped to massage the back of the leg and was impressed at how many people slowed down to ask if I was ok. Lot of good people at this event. I said I would be fine, just having some technical difficulties. I took GU at mile 5 and then at mile 10 ate the sport beans. Holy cow what a difference the caffeine made. I purposely waited, not sure how my stomach would handle the caffeine, but had no trouble. Started to pick up the pace a bit. At mile 11, the skies opened up and it started to pour down rain. I don't mind the rain and started passing a lot of people on the last bridge. Came around the last corner and I could see the finish line waaaaay down at the end of the block. My Garmin read 2:37. I wasn't sure if I could make it by 2:38, which would be a PR for me, but I was going to try. I could hear Karen screaming my name, encouraging me. Dug in deep and got my PR.  Post race
Warm down: The temp had dropped 10 degrees and it was pouring. Karen and I got chiropractic adjustments (since the massage tent was full) while waiting for her husband to finish the marathon, then sat in the car to get warm. We were soaked to the bone. Thank goodness for the mylar blankets. When Rob finished, we all went back to The Lodge, showered and checked out and hit the Bent River Brewery for nourishing recovery fare. What limited your ability to perform faster: Hamstring from h*ll made things freaky, otherwise I think I could have come in under 2:30. My goal today was 2:35, so I missed that, but still PR'd by about a minute. Event comments: Very nice race, it has a "big race" feel. Race director does a great job. Last updated: 2011-08-22 12:00 AM
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 2011-09-26 1:10 PM |
Expert  1694     Illinois |  Subject: Quad Cities Half Marathon |
| 2011-09-26 1:59 PM in reply to: #3700712 |
Veteran 291 Chicago | Subject: RE: Quad Cities Half Marathon Wooooo for a PR! And after two glasses on wine, in the rain, with a busted leg from a bike accident. You def have 2:30 in you. You will get it! Come up to Chicago to race sometime.  |
| 2011-09-26 2:25 PM in reply to: #3700712 |
Extreme Veteran 643 metro DC | Subject: RE: Quad Cities Half Marathon Mazel tov on the PR! Sounds like a pretty decent day, and especially with the hamstring thing, not to mention the wine. You could always come and do the inaugural Iron Girl HIM here in April......! Do you not usually do the caffeine thing? I tried forgoing it in my last tri, bc the time before that I'd had such trouble keeping my heartrate down. Was back on it this past weekend, and really think that more, better training will do much more to keep my heart rate down than forgoing my favorite Gu et al. Glad the wine didn't come back to haunt you at least... |
| 2011-09-26 2:58 PM in reply to: #3700802 |
Expert 1694 Illinois | Subject: RE: Quad Cities Half Marathon ChiLakeShore - 2011-09-26 1:59 PM Wooooo for a PR! And after two glasses on wine, in the rain, with a busted leg from a bike accident. You def have 2:30 in you. You will get it! Come up to Chicago to race sometime. LOL I think you are right, Lauren. Lots of good racing in Chicago, I will pick a half or something next year and get up there. |
| 2011-09-26 3:01 PM in reply to: #3700866 |
Expert 1694 Illinois | Subject: RE: Quad Cities Half Marathon MarlaS - 2011-09-26 2:25 PM Mazel tov on the PR! Sounds like a pretty decent day, and especially with the hamstring thing, not to mention the wine. You could always come and do the inaugural Iron Girl HIM here in April......! Do you not usually do the caffeine thing? I tried forgoing it in my last tri, bc the time before that I'd had such trouble keeping my heartrate down. Was back on it this past weekend, and really think that more, better training will do much more to keep my heart rate down than forgoing my favorite Gu et al. Glad the wine didn't come back to haunt you at least... Thanks Marla! I always have a bit of coffee before the race but have never used the caffeinated gu's, gels, etc. Agree about the wine, the odd thing is that we all had good times --- Karen got a 2:28 (her PR is 2:24 from 5 years ago), her husband got a 3:38 for the marathon (very fast) and Tim got a 1:44 (his goal was to keep it under 2). The cool weather definitely helped. |
| 2011-09-29 9:10 PM in reply to: #3700712 |
Master 2484 St. Louis | Subject: RE: Quad Cities Half Marathon Congrats and nice RR! I hate running in cold ran. You didn't even complain about it! |
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Quad Cities Marathon
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Drove up to Moline from Springfield on Saturday afternoon with Karen, her hubbie Rob, and their friend, Tim. Got to packet pickup,which went smoothly. Very nice expo. I bought some cherry Sport Beans (caffeinated). Karen bought some popcorn from some cute little Boy Scouts. We walked around a bit and then went to check in at hotel - The Lodge in Bettenforf, Iowa. It was about 5 PM at this time.
With nothing better to do, we decided to act like old folks and get dinner at 5:00. But while unpacking, I realized I had foolishly forgotten my deoderant. Yuck...at this point Tim spoke up and asked while we were out shopping, could we find a place where he could get a belt? He was literally holding up his jeans with one hand but had been too shy to say anything.
Found a Dollar General, bought our stuff and then headed down to the Trittoria Tiramasu -- an older Italian restaurant by the waterfront. We were like the second customers in the whole place, it was so early. Got some great pasta and had a glass of wine. It was a little awkward because the server assumed Tim and I were together and combined our bills. What are you gonna do...
We all went back to The Lodge and went down to the Bar for another glass of wine (can you tell no one was very serious about this race?). Had fun spying on a wedding reception that was taking place in the next room. Went back to our rooms. Mine was nice and quiet. Rob, Karen and Tim were in a smoky part of the hotel and their rooms were kind of crappy.
Slept pretty well despite having over-hydrated. I was kicking myself for having wine before a race, since it was bound to cause problems. Woke at 5 AM, made coffee. Had a small whole wheat bagel with some sliced turkey, two cups of coffee. Took two S-caps and a couple of Advil, then slathered my legs and lower back with Icy-Hot (you have to love that it comes in a Roll On) and met up with Karen, Rob and Tim.
Skies were overcast and temps were in the high 40s. We sat in the car for a while, trying to keep warm, then headed for Port a potty. Ran into some other Springfield people while in line.
Not much of a warmup, just kind of walked around until it was time to go. Start was very crowded, we were in the very back. there's also a 5K that starts at the same time that attracts a lot of the walker crowd, and I think that's where we were. Took about 4 minutes to cross the first mat.