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Mississippi Blues Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Jackson, Mississippi
United States
Mississippi Track Club
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 14m
Overall Rank = 356/689
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 13/41
Pre-race routine:

Up early enough to take care of kitties, have a cup of coffee, and hit the road. Sipped some Endurox on the way.
Event warmup:

Didn't warm up. Figured I would take the first couple of miles easy.
Run
  • 2h 14m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt pretty good right out of the gate. Hopped into the porta-john about 100 yards after the start, but didn't lose much time. We started on a downhill (which meant an uphill at the finish...oh well), and I quickly found a rhythm. The only problem was I was trying a different strap for my knee, and I couldn't seem to get it adjusted right. The knee (patellar tendonitis) would tweak me a little every now and then, so I knew it would be a problem later. Also, as we started into the hilly portion of the course (which for the half marathoners was 90% of the course), I realized it was actually hillier than I anticipated and so figured if I could run the same time as last month, that would be good enough. Especially given that my training had been lackluster, at best, of late. I managed to find a nice, consistent pace that seemed to be just under 10 min/mile. Around 5-7 miles, I caught up and passed some of my friends (a few who were doing the full marathon). I reached 7 miles in 1:09 and figured if I kept the same pace, I could finish around 2:08-2:09ish. After that, though, my knee started to bother me and I kept stopping to adjust the strap. I was definitely losing time. Around 10 miles, I noticed that my quads were hurting (all those hills)...but that told me I was working hard. The half marathoners got to turn around and head for the finish just after 11 miles, and right about then was when the knee became quite uncooperative. It specifically didn't like the hills. The problem was it was all hills. I ended up walking quite a bit and only managed to limp in at the end because it hurt pretty bad. Still, all in all, I was okay with my effort, and I was pleased that I pushed myself (even though it was doggone slow).
What would you do differently?:

Not have patellar tendonitis. Wear the right knee strap, if I did. And maintain consistency in my training so I could do the full marathon as originally planned.
Post race
Warm down:

Stood in line to get my picture taken. I never get these pictures, but figured, "what the heck."

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Sore knee. Inconsistent training. Challenging hills.

Event comments:

I thought this was a good race for the first year. I only wished there was more music on the course. I hope this becomes a great success for Mississippi because it was well done, the course was hard but good, and the weather was good.




Last updated: 2007-10-17 12:00 AM
Running
02:14:00 | 13.1 miles | 10m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 13/41
Overall: 356/689
Performance: Average
Course: Rolling (actually, pretty hilly) course that looped through downtown Jackson. I think it's a good, challenging course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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] 4

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2008-01-07 12:10 PM

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Expert
1074
10002525
Madison, MS
Subject: Mississippi Blues Marathon


2008-01-07 12:34 PM
in reply to: #1139043

Subject: ...
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2008-01-07 1:23 PM
in reply to: #1139043

Champion
5117
5000100
Brandon, MS
Subject: RE: Mississippi Blues Marathon

Way to fight through it.

I was so happy it turned out so well.  In no way did it look like this was the first time they had done this.  I think as it grows there will be even more bands and spectators along the course, although I was still pretty surprised at the number of spectators. 

I remember getting toward the end and somebody screaming, "just one more hill!!"  I thought, "the whole damn thing was a hill."  It was a very hard course for me, but it made it all the more satisfying to finish.  Plus the beer line was really realy short.  Bonus!

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