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Lethbridge 1/2 Marathon - Run


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Lethbridge, Alberta
Canada
Runner's Soul
42F / 6C
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 22m 17s
Overall Rank = 297/470
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 26/29
Pre-race routine:

http://www.runnersoul.com/musicfromthesoul/

I found an easy way to take the edge off of a race, even a first attempt at a new longer distance like this. Just sign up for a much harder event and this becomes a training exercise. I slept well, in spite of interuptions, until shortly before it was time to get up.

I tried a trick I read about on BT and had lots of water before bedtime last night. When I got up in the middle of the night, to use the washroom and let the dog out, I also ate a sandwich and had some other light snacks. This morning I wasn't hungry. I had a few sips of water and took a Clif Shot, with caffiene, to have just before starting.

My wife's parents stayed over and they would come with my wife to see me finish the race. I was on my own till then.

Parking might have been problematic so I left home early and got to the venue about 6:15 for a 7:00am start. I was parked only a few hundred yards from the starting area which also had a large dance hall/barn type building with lots of tables and seating inside.
Event warmup:

It was cold, windy, and raining steady all morning, very uncharacteristic here. We hardly ever get to train in weather like that but I did go for a few rainy runs last summer. Everyone before the race was trying to figure out what they should be wearing. Initially I had on warmup pants and a matching jacket over my running shorts and technical t-shirt. After a few minutes I ran to my truck, took the pants off, and ran back. That matched the majority of the crowd. After a few more minutes, and several indecisive false starts, I ran to the truck again and left my jacket there. Now it was definately cool but the start time was nearing so I ran a bit and bounced around to stay warm, and to warm up for the run. I was only a little chilled a few times on the run when exposed to the wind but it seems like the best choice.
Run
  • 2h 22m 17s
  • 21.1 kms
  • 06m 44s  min/km
Comments:

It was hard to hold my pace down at the start but, other than a few excitable slipups, I just let the crowd run past me. The full marathon route followed the half at first with some detours that had some of those faster runners rejoining and repassing us, which also tended to repeatedly pull up the pace. I was comfortably warm almost as soon as we started though. At about mile 7 or 8 of the half route, the full marathon route went somewhere else far far away. Their path linked up with ours again in the river valley but I don't think any of them caught up to me after that.

Monitoring my HR, I kept having to slow down again until about the half way point just before dropping into the valley. After that the hills and then tired legs took care of pacing. I took a couple of short walk breaks coming up the hill and another around mile 12. With all the rain and cool weather, the aid stations didn't have to work very hard. I alternated between water and the sports drink they offered, and walked to drink, but I skipped 3 or 4 stations for each one I did use. I had a second gel shortly after climbing out of the valley.

For the last half of the run I played leap frog with a lady. She was doing a run/walk interval and I was running steady so we kept passing each other, exchanging comments each time. I couldn't quite catch her again after walking at mile 12. Not for lack of trying though, as I picked up the pace as much as I could for the last mile. I was only a few feet behind and closing at the finish. After the end someone hung a finisher's medal on me. :)

Post race
Warm down:

I grabbed a plate of the post race breakfast, piled it high, and went inside to eat it with my wife. Her parents left to do errands around town. After eating, I got some dry clothes from my truck and changed. My wife was volunteering at the race and was working the kids run that wouldn't start for a while yet. While she went to check in, I got a coffee and went to cheer as some of the other finishers came in. Yes, it was still raining and I got wet again. Oh well. She finished her job and we left. I might have gone to watch the awards but my wife had had enough weather.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not enough experience and training. This is the first time I've run this far. The weather was bad but I don't think it hurt my performance.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2006-03-20 12:00 AM
Running
02:22:17 | 21.1 kms | 06m 44s  min/km
Age Group: 26/29
Overall: 297/470
Performance: Good
I started the HR monitor/stopwatch on time but forgot to stop it right away at the end so I adjusted the average HR up a couple of beats. Averaged 169.
Course: The course wound through Lethbridge. It was mostly level for the first half until the descent into the river valley and the 300ft climb out. The last few miles followed the edge of the valley and rolled up and down a bit.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2006-05-28 11:06 PM

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Lethbridge, Alberta
Bronze member
Subject: Lethbridge 1/2 Marathon


2006-05-29 1:30 PM
in reply to: #436905

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Master
1324
1000100100100
Rochester, NY
Subject: RE: Lethbridge 1/2 Marathon
Congrats on finishing a long, tough race, Dwayne! Thats a lot more than I could do. It looks like you had a good race, pacing yourself well.

Great job!
2006-05-29 2:21 PM
in reply to: #436905

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Master
1320
1000100100100
Chilliwack, BC
Subject: RE: Lethbridge 1/2 Marathon
Good race!
Congrats on a long run.

Also, thank your wife for volunteering. Thats a big thing.

Dan
2006-05-29 6:57 PM
in reply to: #436905

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Master
1551
10005002525
Virginia Beach, VA
Subject: RE: Lethbridge 1/2 Marathon
Congrats on your first half marathon. Great job!!
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