General Discussion Race Reports! » Valley Crest Half Marathon Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Valley Crest Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Tarzana, CA, California
United States
Bull Dog Racing
69F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 8h 00m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Drove up with some fellow Tri Clubbers. Had my smoothie before, and not much water.
Event warmup:

Didn't do much - minor stretchng (more would have been a BRILLIANT idea) but really just went for it.
Run
  • 2h 53m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 13m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

After last weeks Oly, and very little stretching or training in between, I knew this race would be tough. I also hadn't been focusing on the skills needed at all - I haven't been doing much hill running, or longer distance, as we were definitely focused on Bonelli, and more importantly, making sure my gastrointestinal problems were really stabilized, if not solved. I really am genuinely happy to have finished it. I really (obviously) didn't push that hard with it, I just wanted to get through it and enjoy the scenery. It was really, really tough and hilly. Had a gel at mile 3.5 and around mile 8. Had some water. I am THRILLED about my stomach - a few cramps, but besides that, totally fine, and I was definitely nervous since it would be my first real distance run in a long time, partly out of fear. I walked the last steep hill, just cause I kind of hit the wall and was in a lot of pain. Knowing that it wouldn't have made that big a difference with my time, and that I have three days of flying starting tomorrow, it didn't seem worth it to hurt myself as badly as it would have done. The bottoms of my feet were burning, and the top of one foot got bruised (the one with the foot pod) - that sucked.
What would you do differently?:

I wouldn't have done it right after Bonelli. Train more on hills leading up to it, do longer distance running, etc.
Post race
Warm down:

Ate some bagel, stretched a little bit (I was in PAIN) and drove home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not near enough run training for this this month, not enough hills, tight legs, tired. Also, forgot my heart rate monitor, so didn't have pacing, which probably would have made me run faster.

Event comments:

It's a stunningly beautiful course, but a bit too expensive ($55-65) for very little, especially as it's a clear trail, so could be done easily without having to race it. An aid station every 3 miles on such a hot day felt really far apart. There was also no mile marking at all, and very few volunteers on the course, so pacing became vastly more difficult than I've ever experienced. The t-shirts came in Medium as the smallest, which considering how many women were there felt kind of thoughtless. The post-race food was really mediocre. I am spoiled by triathlons, I suppose, and the volunteers were perfectly fine, but it was just not worth the amount of money to run a course I could easily do by myself.




Last updated: 2009-05-05 12:00 AM
Running
02:53:00 | 13.1 miles | 13m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course: Very, very challenging, hilly course. It makes a figure 8, going out 3.5 miles and back to the start, and then 3 miles out and back. Approximately 1700' of gain, with no shade, made this one a doozy.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

{postbutton}
2009-06-14 4:07 PM

User image

Member
31
25
New York, NY
Subject: Valley Crest Half Marathon
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Valley Crest Half Marathon Rss Feed