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

Palmetto Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Columbia, South Carolina
United States
65F / 18C
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 20m 18s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Same as always: coffee & water @ house & on way to race along with 1 Hammer Gel & S-Cap. Multiple bathroom trips and was ready & good to go.
Event warmup:

Some light jogging around the starting line area. Dodge raindrops.
Run
  • 2h 20m 18s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

Run was going fine for first 7 miles or so. Was averaging 9:28 pace (range 9:09-9:54) and was looking to go sub 2:05 (9:32 pace). Coming up hill I took a mis-step on a manhole cover/pothole and not long after deep in my right glute started to cramp up. Tried to self-massage it and keep going but it kept getting tighter & tighter. The cramp/pull ended up changing my gait from a run to a hobble that caused a kinetic chain reaction of pain in my right front hip and then left foot. After seeing my time balloon up for the 8th mile I realized my day was pretty much done. Instead of pushing it and risking a real injury (it was a Hippocratic decision, "do no harm"), I bagged it and just walked/light jogged it in. Kinda bummed out but what can you do.
What would you do differently?:

So many things probably led up to the cramp/pull: , being overweight with bad body composition, not enough training miles, lack of functional strength, lousy nutrition (and too much wine), dumb idea to begin biking the week before the race during my "taper," lack of a true taper for an A race, the list goes on. But it is what it is. Time to refocus, learn from my mistakes and try again.
Post race
Warm down:

Waited for my nephew to come in, grabbed a few Gatorades and stretched out as much as I could. (When I got home my beloved wife massaged my legs and brought the pain ... whew). Afterwards it was an afternoon in compression tights.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The direct cause was the glute cramp/pull. But there were many secondary causes which led to the direct cause.

Event comments:

Kudos to the volunteers for braving the rain, wind & lightning. Well done race that should be on your list if you are anywhere nearby.

In the grand scheme of things, one bad race isn't the end of the world. My family could care less if I ran a 1:20, 2:20 or 3:20 HM. I'm happy that I made it through relatively unscathed and am even healthy enough (and have the financial wherewithal) to train and race pretty much whenever I want to. I need to focus on my blessings and not my disappointments and move on. Doesn't necessarily remove the sting of a bad performance but as long as I learn from it I'll be fine.




Last updated: 2011-04-17 12:00 AM
Running
02:20:18 | 13.1 miles | 10m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Avg. HR for first 7 miles was around 165-167. Mile 1 - 9:22 Mile 2 - 9:16 Mile 3 - 9:09 Mile 4 - 9:25 Mile 5 - 9:44 Mile 6 - 9:28 Mile 7 - 9:54 Miles 8-finish: Shall not be spoken of.
Course: Rolling hills out & back course.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 1
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

{postbutton}
2011-04-18 8:25 AM

User image

Veteran
129
10025
Lugoff, SC
Subject: Palmetto Half Marathon
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Palmetto Half Marathon Rss Feed