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Long Beach Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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long beach, California
United States
60sF / 0C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 42m 42s
Overall Rank = 416/9519
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 344/3789
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at at 5:20, and ate my usual peanut butter sandwich with banana and gatorade. I was pretty tired. My body was still at about 80%. I was still fighting the last bit of the flue. I stayed at a hotel that one of my buddies booked so I didn't have to worry about the traffic coming into long beach. Spent sometime in the hotel just talking to a few of my buddies who were doing their first race and then we walked to the start line.
Event warmup:

Jogged to and from my wave and the last wave. Stretched and jiggled the hammies a bit.
Run
  • 1h 42m 42s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

The course is pretty flat. The first 4 miles, my legs were feeling pretty flat. I caught the flu a few days before, so I expected this to happen. I knew it would take a bit of time to get my body adjusted. After the first 4 miles, the next 4 felt good, I was going anywhere between a 7:40-7:50. I took a gu after mile 5 and then another one after mile 10. And drank some water after every other mile as my body was just a little dehydrated from the days before. After mile 9, I was feeling really good, and I felt that I could run a 7:00 the rest of the way through. So I ran pretty hard on mile 10 and could only manage a 7:30. The last 2 miles were hard. I was really tired, fatigued and had some trouble breathing, but I pushed really hard. Pushed as hard as I could. I knew I wasn't going to be pr given the circumstances, but I made sure I didn't walk.
What would you do differently?:

Be Healthy
Post race
Warm down:

I was able to talk with a fellow bt'er, mike (Halfironmike) who managed to run a 1:24 (5th in ag). I was also able to chat with a father of my former student who also ran a 1:42. I stretched, drank some water, put on my compress recovery gear and headed to church

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being sick the days prior wasn't ideal. I was at 80% on race day. So can't really complain. I left it all out there.

Event comments:

My original goal was to run a 1:30, but after training sessions, my goal became a little more realistic and I wanted to do a sub 1:40. I ran almost close to that being sick, which means I'm sure I could do a 1:35. I just have to run more, and run faster. My garmin also said I ran 13.24 miles in 1:42, which means I was running a 7:45, and all my splits add up to a 7:45, so I'm wondering if the course is longer than what's it says, or I ran an extra tenth of a mile somewhere.

I did run as hard as I could given the circumstances, so I'll take the 1:42. My initial goal coming in with all the sickness was just to run a 1:50.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2010-07-19 12:00 AM
Running
01:42:42 | 13.1 miles | 07m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 344/3789
Overall: 416/9519
Performance: Good
Course: You run all over downtown Long Beach. You run along the beach on concrete, pass the queen mary and then it loops back to the finish line.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2010-10-18 11:46 AM

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Veteran
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SoCal
Subject: Long Beach Half Marathon


2010-10-18 12:12 PM
in reply to: #3158155

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Champion
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Northridge, California
Subject: RE: Long Beach Half Marathon
Nice job...we probably saw each other out there along the beach...I hit the halfway point for the marathon at 1:44, so we must have been somewhere around each other before the course split.  Congrats on a solid finish!

(E.T.A.:  Just noticed the course length thing:  FWIW, my Garmin had me running 26.65 for the marathon and it hit 13.1 well before the 13 mile marker.  But I always expect to see it show longer than the official distance because I consistently take wide turns...since this course is USATF certified, it should be accurate if you were to run all the tightest tangents.)


Edited by tcovert 2010-10-18 12:15 PM
2010-10-18 4:05 PM
in reply to: #3158155

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Extreme Veteran
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San Diego
Subject: RE: Long Beach Half Marathon
Nice job Mike.  Way to push on through to the end, despite not being at your best.  Glad we got a chance to chat at the finish.  On to Oceanside!
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