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Community First Fox Cities Marathon Festival of Races /US Cellular Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Neenah, Wisconsin
United States
Community First Fox Cities Marathon Festival of Races
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 05m 1s
Overall Rank = 1173/2635
Age Group = F 20-24
Age Group Rank = 63/153
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:15, dressed, ate my PB toast, and hit the road. Thought I would have smooth sailing all the way to Neenah but I had to deal with fog for much of the ride. Some idiot on the highway turned his lights off....WTF? Anyway, I saw the buses waiting once I was in downtown Neenah, so I parked and took the bus to the start line (the race starts and ends in different places).
Event warmup:

Stretched, stretched, and stretched my hips some more since my hips get super tight. Shivered a lot as it was only 50 when the race started. My nerves calmed and I felt ready to go. Waited in line to pee and was disgusted that I couldn't find a "hand wash" area....yuck! This was my first 1/2 marathon race and it had been over 4 years since I ran further than 8 miles, so it was really exciting to be "back in the game."
Run
  • 2h 05m 1s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 32s  min/mile
Comments:

I started too far (unintentionally) in front and I felt like EVERYONE was passing me the first couple miles and I felt SO slow! It's hard for me to stay back when everyone else (or so it seemed) was running faster. My goal was 10 minute miles, and I was registering in at 9:30ish miles the first half. Little did I know that I would surprise myself and keep this pace the entire way, so starting further up actually was a good thing. I felt like I was going a bit too fast but I was still comfortable.....just pushing myself a bit. I stuck with it since I was feeling good. The first 5 miles seemed to go by really fast which helped me be confident that I could keep the pace. At mile 9 a kid had some super squirt gun and soaked one side of my head....thanks for the shower! The last 3 miles I passed quite a few people, one of which was a man singing along to his ipod haha! It wasn't until about mile 11 that my legs were seriously ready to stop. At mile 10 I figured if I could run 8 minute miles, I might beat 2 hours. That plan fell apart at mile 11. The last mile felt like forever.....beautiful scenery along the lake shore, but I was hurting and not interested so much at that point! Finally, I could see the finish line!
What would you do differently?:

Not get Gatorade in my eyes? ;)
Post race
Warm down:

Stood in line for the food and got super hot with the mylar wrap so I tossed it....bad idea.....I was soon SO cold....shivering and all, even with my jacket back on. Got a massage which I have never done before and it was great, even if it was only 5 minutes. Looked and looked for BTers, but saw no one :(

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing, happy with my performance. I just started running again in May, so I think I did pretty well keeping that in mind. I just decided in July that it was time to get back into distance running. I'm proud of myself for doing that. I've been struggling with fatigue the past month, but I don't feel that had any impact on today's race.

Event comments:

I was impressed with this race. I wasn't too sure about the whole bus to the start line, but it was no big deal. Well organized, good support along the way, nice course. Some of the music along the course and before and after the race was odd for a race, but that's minor. Tons of volunteers, medical support, etc. Now I want to do another marathon....of course after this! But my legs were killing me with just a 1/2...we'll see.




Last updated: 2009-08-31 12:00 AM
Running
02:05:01 | 13.1 miles | 09m 32s  min/mile
Age Group: 63/153
Overall: 1173/2635
Performance: Good
Course: Nice and flat other than 3 bridge overpasses. Nice smooth roads overall. We started in Menasha and ended at a gorgeous park in Neenah. Mooing cows at one point....in case anyone forgot they were in Wisconsin!
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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] 5

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2009-09-20 4:27 PM

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Extreme Veteran
414
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Green Bay, WI
Subject: Community First Fox Cities Marathon Festival of Races /US Cellular Half Marathon


2009-09-21 9:58 PM
in reply to: #2416368

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Regular
68
2525
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Subject: RE: Community First Fox Cities Marathon Festival of Races /US Cellular Half Marathon

Awesome job!  You rocked this half....  Well done!

 

Pretty wild how well those mylar thingys work.  That's a great avg time, now I have a goal to beat, just need to get off my dead azz and get to it! 

 

2009-09-22 11:39 PM
in reply to: #2419092

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Extreme Veteran
414
100100100100
Green Bay, WI
Subject: RE: Community First Fox Cities Marathon Festival of Races /US Cellular Half Marathon
bnmracn - 2009-09-21 9:58 PM

Awesome job!  You rocked this half....  Well done!

 

Pretty wild how well those mylar thingys work.  That's a great avg time, now I have a goal to beat, just need to get off my dead azz and get to it! 

 



It is wild how those work. I finished and was warm but not hot. I put on that mylar wrap and I got REALLY warm and I could feel the sweat dripping down my back! Note to self to not throw that away so soon next time!
2009-09-23 12:53 PM
in reply to: #2416368

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Elite
3067
200010002525
Cheesehead, WI
Subject: RE: Community First Fox Cities Marathon Festival of Races /US Cellular Half Marathon
Great Job Megan! Wooot! YOu are BACK in the saddle Missy!
Wish we had crossed paths at some point...next time!
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