Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon

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Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

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Chesapeake, Virginia
United States
Chesapeake Conventions & Tourism
80F / 27C
Sunny

Total Time = 2h 17m 11s
Overall Rank = 703/2500
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 32/81

Pre-race routine:

Up at 0530 to wash up and stretsh a bit. Forgot to bring the toaster or a knife so breakfast was dipping the piece of w.w. bagel into the jar of peanutbutter and eating each piece like a small sandwich. Had my mojo low fat organic chocolate soy milk too :) (any excuse for that stuff) along with some coffee, V8 and a banana. Got all the food groups covered now...

Event warmup:

Got to the site and walked around, stretched some. Met up with Susan and Klynne briefly before the start. They were pushing me to run with the 2:15 pace group since their plan was 9:1 run/walk. I wan't sure about that but did get in ahead of them since I wanted to run the whole thing.

Run

2h 17m 11s
13.1 miles
10m 28s min/mile

Comments:

I started off with the 2:30 pace group, slow and conservative. Caught up around mile 2 with a group of pink zebra ladies who happened to be from Richmond too. We hung together for about 3 miles, they stopped at a portapotty around mile 5 and I caught up to the 2:15 pace group when they dropped off. I hung with that pace group for about 4 miles so I was with them past the turn around and feeling pretty good. Somewhere around mile 9 the pace leader turned on his speed and I was feeling comfortable where I was so I lost sight of him. I kept cruising along hitting a glop of Gu and a sip of water every mile or so. That worked real well for me, the Gu didn't upset my stomach and I didn't feel over bloated from the water. My pink zebra lady friends caught up with me around mile 10 or 11 so we finished together.

What would you do differently?:

Next time I do a half I'll have to be more aggressive to hold with the pace crew but this was my first half so my goal was to run the entire thing and feel good all the way.

Post race

Warm down:

Walked around, grabbed a half sandwich, banana and lots of cold water from the volunteers. I was starting to stretch when my right calf just cramped up. I couldn't put my foot down for what seemed like a lomg time, barely able to put weight on it for several minutes. Once we got back to the hotel I walked around the pool for a few minutes and sat in the hot tub to stretch before our drive back to Richmond.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing, I ran according to my plan and enjoyed my first half marathon.

Event comments:

I was told that at least 5 runners went out by EMS because of the heat. I saw one lady hooked up to the AED but don't know if she was shocked or it was a precaution. It was pretty warm but the weather here has been all over the map for temperature lately so no one has really accomodated to the warmer weather yet. There were water/gatorade stops at miles 2, 4, 6, and 8 with Accel gel handed out at mile 6 so I think a lot of people weren't hydrated enough for the heat and my Gu/water plan kept me humming along. I'll have to thank my friend at the gym who suggested that to me. She does marathons that way all the time without any problem. Works for me too :)

Profile Album

Last updated: 2007-12-26 12:00 AM

Running
02:17:11 \| 13.1 miles \| 10m 28s min/mile
Age Group:	32/81
Overall:	703/2500
Performance:	Good
mile 3 31:3 mile 6 1:02.28 mile 10 1:44.50
Course:	Totally flat out the road that parallels the Dismal Swamp Canal, turn around and back. Fairly well shaded for most of it. Not crowded at all. Lots of runners pushing strollers...Only one costumed runner this time and she was in a yellow chiffon skirt with yellow bunny ears. There was music just after the turn around but it wasn't as animated a race as Monument in terms of party stuff. No cow bell either, finally heard some after the whole thing was over but it just wasn't enough
Keeping cool	Good	Drinking	Just right

Post race
Weight change:	%
Overall:	Good
Mental exertion [1-5]	4
Physical exertion [1-5]	4
Good race?	Yes

Evaluation
Course challenge	Just right
Organized?	Yes
Events on-time?	Yes
Lots of volunteers?	Yes
Plenty of drinks?	No
Post race activities:	Average
Race evaluation [1-5]	4