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Valley of Gold Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Tucson, Arizona
United States
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 51m 13s
Overall Rank = 214/1140
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 10/45
Pre-race routine:

I had never been to Tucson before and the place we stayed (Green Valley) was about 45-miles from the race start. Didn't know this until the day before the race. this presented an adventure making arrangements for someone to watch the kids Sunday morning while the wife and i ran the race. My mother-in-law showed up at our hotel at 5:30am. we hit the road and arrived just before the race started.
Event warmup:

We hear the race start as I was putting on my shoes. ran (about a mile) to the start. hit the portajohn and wished my wife goodluck!
Run
  • 1h 51m 13s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

Started behind the pack as we arrived after the race started. I don't think anyone started after we did. My wife started a little in front of me as i was screwing with finding a playlist on my ipod. I thought I would see her at some point in the race but never did.

Never visiting Tucson before, I have to admit i was very surprised at how hilly this course was. I assumed Tucson was flat...but no part of this course was flat! Not that the hills were killer...they were very manageable but i was surprised!

The first couple miles were somewhat frustrating as I had to zigzag through a lot of runner's. I didn't get my first mile split as I never did see the mile marker...it was too crowded! I did get all my other mile splits and they are all over the place. I think this is more a reflection of the hilly course than my pacing as my HR was pretty steady. Also, there was some wind which I think affected some miles more than others. While I never felt that I was moving very fast i was passing people the entire run. In fact, I was never passed by anyone the entire race, other than maybe a couple runner's that we did cat & mouse for a while. But seemed anyone that did pass me i eventually pulled in front and didn't see them again. yes, starting in the back will have you passing lots of runner's! although, I think I would have had somewhat of a faster race if i would have started closer to the front with runner's closer to a pace that would have pushed me. This race really seemed to fly by for me. I never once felt myself wishing I was finished but before I knew it I was.
What would you do differently?:

I would have liked to have arrived and started on time!
Post race
Warm down:

I wasn't sure if my wife had finished in front of me or was still running. I looked around the finish and didn't see her. she came in a couple minutes after me.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

late start
I've had some knee problems lately that really become painful when running downhill. I could have pushed the downhills harder.

Event comments:

the post race was pretty lame. water, some fruit, bagels but nothing that impressed me. But the race was awesome! A great course with plenty of aid stations and volunteers! If I am ever in Tucson in March again I would run this again.




Last updated: 2010-01-30 12:00 AM
Running
01:51:13 | 13.1 miles | 08m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/45
Overall: 214/1140
Performance: Good
Avg HR - 145 Max HR - 152 Mile 1-2 - 17:13 Mile 3 - 8:27 Mile 4 - 8:42 Mile 5 - 8:18 Mile 6 - 8:29 Mile 7 - 8:14 Mile 8 - 8:44 Mile 9 - 8:53 Mile 10 - 8:36 Mile 11 - 8:44 Mile 12 - 7:48 Mile 13 - 8:14 .1 - :32
Course: Scenic with some rolling hills, out and back through Oro Valley
Keeping cool Good Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2010-04-02 11:52 AM

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Pro
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Parker, CO
Subject: Valley of Gold Half Marathon


2010-04-04 8:50 PM
in reply to: #2765243

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Elite
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Subject: RE: Valley of Gold Half Marathon
Nice race Ray...fightin' through discomfort aint fun.  My two worst nightmares are injuries and LATE STARTS!  I swear I still have nightmares of showing up to high school classes late not to mention the nightmares of showing up late to triathlon races.  UGH!
Your finishing position was damn impressive and if your wife wasn't too far behind, likewise on her race!
...and that IPOD BETTER have had at least one GNR tune on there!!! 

2010-04-05 5:54 PM
in reply to: #2765243

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Champion
5312
5000100100100
Calgary
Subject: RE: Valley of Gold Half Marathon
good job.
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