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

Flower City Half Marathon - Run


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Rochester, New York
United States
50F / 10C
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 08m 36s
Overall Rank = 846/1290
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 49/114
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 6 am, ate cereal with strawberries, and coffee, and a banana. I didn't sleep well last night (nerves!), and was a bit apprehensive. I got to the parking garage about 30 min ahead of time, and debated what to wear and take. It was cold, and I run cold anyway, so finally decided on my short sleeved technical shirt, sugoi longsleeved top, and shell. I stuffed a couple of gels and my ipod into the pockets.
Event warmup:

I jogged from the parking garage to the venue.
Run
  • 2h 08m 46s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

Yeah, keeping cool not a problem! I didn't take my shell off until 7 miles in. Since I wasn't that confident in my less-than-ideal training, I started out very slow- I kept to 11 min miles initially, and didn't let myself go under 10 until 7 miles. I started to feel good around 4, and kept it around 10 then. After the hills (about 9 miles in) I felt great (and saw my husband and son there!) and I picked it up. I did my final 5K in <28 minutes, so was pretty happy with that. I passed many many people during the last (7!) miles. At about 11 miles I was running with someone who was running about the same pace as I was, and we pushed each other to the end (thanks Allison!). We were able to actually hold a conversation, so I probably could have gone a little faster :).

So, just a little gripe, but my overall place was based on my gun time, not my chip time. Is this usual? I obviously started much farther back that the others I finished with, and would have been several places higher on chip time. Not that I lost any awards based on that, but that was a significant minute! I'll have to start further up if that's usually the case, even though I start slow.
What would you do differently?:

Not get sick in January, so I could train for longer!
Post race
Warm down:

Walked to car, drove home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training, training, training. But I think I got a little taste of what I might be able to do with some at least adequate training, and that's kind of fun. I enjoyed this distance, and could see myself racing it again, though I also have an old 5K PR to top one of these days :).

Event comments:

Great race, especially for an inaugural. The course was fun, and well supported. The volunteers were enthusiastic. I hope it is successful and runs again! If they want to be like the boilermaker they need beer at the finish line (I didn't look, but I didn't notice anyone with beer!). The bands (2) along the way were really fun- more would be awesome (maybe a string quartet by Eastman). And can't all races now give technical t-shirts instead of cotton?? But overall an awesome introduction to the half-marathon distance.




Last updated: 2010-01-13 12:00 AM
Running
02:08:46 | 13.1 miles | 09m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/114
Overall: 0/1290
Performance: Good
Course: Big circuit around Rochester- very fun course, especially for locals. A fair amount overlapped with my long run course, which was fun, especially since I don't normally have the road blocked off for me :). A mile or so wound around Mt. Hope Cemetery, which I thought was really nice, but probably not the right place for cowbells. The hills in the cemetery were tough, but I was still feeling good and passed many there.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2

{postbutton}
2010-04-25 8:43 PM

User image

Expert
721
500100100
Subject: Flower City Half Marathon


2010-04-25 9:42 PM
in reply to: #2815789

User image

Expert
1023
1000
Malvern, England
Subject: RE: Flower City Half Marathon
Well done - you did it!  And sounds like you paced it very well too.
2010-04-26 4:03 AM
in reply to: #2815789

User image

Pro
5123
5000100
Canandaigua NY
Subject: RE: Flower City Half Marathon

Great job running your race!!!! Congrats on a great finish in your first half!!!

If you like the distance you should look at the Rochester half in September!  Some of the course is the same, but it is flatter.

Sorry we didn't find each other to meet in person!

2010-04-26 8:01 AM
in reply to: #2815789

User image

Veteran
188
100252525
Rochester, NY
Subject: RE: Flower City Half Marathon
Nice run!  I think the Roch 1/2 and the Boilermaker do chip time, not gun time.  As the race grows they'll do things like that.  I'm excited that there were so many participants this year.  I'm sure they'll do it again.  Something to look forward to!
2010-04-26 8:14 AM
in reply to: #2815789

User image

Master
1324
1000100100100
Rochester, NY
Subject: RE: Flower City Half Marathon

Great job!  Sounds like a ton of fun despite the bad weather.  I know how exciting it is to do so well and still know you've got a lot of opportunity for improvement!  You're well on your way!!!!

2010-04-26 4:27 PM
in reply to: #2815789

User image

Master
2146
200010025
East Side of the Bay
Subject: RE: Flower City Half Marathon
Awesome first half marathon!! Strong work there doc!!!


General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Flower City Half Marathon Rss Feed