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Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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New York, New York
United States
New York Road RUnners
83F / 28C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 57m 38s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Got up around 6:15, had a pb&j, packed my stuff and headed out. Got a cup of coffee on the way, and took the A-train to the race. Had a gel about 35 minutes before the start.
Event warmup:

Actually warmed up for this one. Ran on the road for about 5 minutes and stretched. Used the portosans once w/about 30 minutes to go, but had to go (bad!) again with about 5 minutes to go. Barely made it back to my chute!
Run
  • 1h 57m 38s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

My chute, (9m/m) was defnitiely the most crowded. It took a good 3-4 minutes to reach the start line, much of it walking.
I started at about an 8:40 pace, and held it for about 3-4 miles, which was a little faster than I needed to break 2 hours. I had set the "virtual partner" on my garmin to 2 hours, and so I kept an eye on him. I wasn't leaving him in the dust, but I was making steady progress.
The first lap was pretty uneventful. Passed some people, got passed by a few people. I had a really tough time finding any rabbits. Just when I found someone who kept me on a good pace, they'd decide to walk a water station or, in a couple of cases, decided to pull off the course entirely. Water stations are something I've been working to get better at, and I was happy with how they went. For the first few, I got water only, one to drink, one on my head, then started alternating water and Gatorade Endurance. The water on my head, though, led to water in my shoes.
Took my gel w/caffeine at mile 8, although I was feeling pretty good still. Splits were still in the 8:40-9:00 range, depending on the hills.
Around mile 10, my left knee started to feel sore, and I started getting a blister on my left foot, since my sock was soaked from all the water. My mile 11 split was my slowest, as I tried to back off the pace a little (9:40), but I kept running, ven through the water stations.
Eventually I got to a point where, much as it hurt, I figured it probably wasn't getting any worse, and so I pushed it aside and tried to pick up the pace as much as I could. My virtual partner, who had, at one point, been .35 miles behind me, had crept up to about .24, and I knew that I was losing ground at my slower pace. Lap 12 was 8:52.
I really didn't have much left at the end of this race. In every race I've ever done, I always had a strong finishing kick, but not this time.There's an uphill climb to the finish, which wasn't much fun. I picked up my pace as much as I could, but only managed a slow run (8:18) for the last section. I finished strong, though, and crossed the line running, at least.
What would you do differently?:

This was the furthest I've ever run, even in training. I'm happy to just have finished under my two-hour goal.
Post race
Warm down:

Saw my family just past the finish chute. My son was still wearing his number and his ribbon from the kids race. I was much more interested in hearing about his race than in thinking about how I felt. I had some water, a few cups of Gatorade E, and a smoked salmon bagel at the food tent, then went home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training, experience. This is my first Half-mary, and the furthest I've ever run, even in training. The blister and knee didn't help, and I'll have to figure something out for my HIM's.

Event comments:

This is a terrific event--all of the NYRR races are, in my (limited) experience. Good crowd, fun course. I thought it was weird that the 1-mile race started 15 minutes before the half-mary, but other than that, I thought it was really well run. Sorry I missed the Norweigian Pop Songstress....




Last updated: 2007-08-16 12:00 AM
Running
01:57:38 | 13.1 miles | 08m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 497/
Overall: 1619/
Performance: Good
HR was pretty high, which I think had to do with the heat. It was in the mid-70's for much of the race, overcast and muggy. Average was 166, and I definitely spent a fair amount of time in the 175-179 area, esp on the hills.
Course: Two laps of Central Park, which is a series of long, rolling hills. There's hardly a time that you're not either going up or going down.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2007-10-06 8:44 PM

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Champion
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Brooklyn, NY
Subject: Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon


2007-10-06 9:01 PM
in reply to: #995006

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Master
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Clifton, NJ
Subject: RE: Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon

hey, awesome job! congratulations on finishing your first half marathon! sub 9's is very impressive

that hill at the end is NOT fun - if they did the same configuration as i remember from the last 10K i did in central park. so sorry i couldn't do this one w/you - but you woulda' had to wait about another half an hour to see me crawl across the finish... next time, fer shure!

congrats to li'l jmk in his race - that must have been the cutest thing to see him sprinting, i hope you got pictures of him wearing his medal

2007-10-06 9:06 PM
in reply to: #995006

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Pro
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Sous Mon Diadème
Subject: RE: Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon
Congrats on your son's race, Proud Papa.  Oh yeah, and you smoked yours, too.  Great job!  Too bad about the songstress, though... maybe next year
2007-10-06 9:33 PM
in reply to: #995006

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Veteran
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MA
Subject: RE: Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon
You had a smoked salmon bagel after the race?  Only in New York.  Oh, was I supposed to be commenting on your performance?  Congrats to both you and the Cutest Human in the World- sounds like he'll be smoking his papa pretty soon.    Oh and way to beat your virtual partner...helluva race!
2007-10-07 4:55 PM
in reply to: #995006

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Extreme Veteran
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Long Beach, CA
Subject: RE: Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon

Hey Jonah -

 Nice race finish, congrats to you and you son on a terrific race day! Good to have a 1/2 Mary under your belt witha HIM looming in the distiance! Enjoy some well deserve rest and then BACK AT IT next week!

2007-10-08 12:46 PM
in reply to: #995006

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Expert
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Subject: RE: Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon

I'm with Emily.....seriously a smoked salmon bagel. I'm lucky if there is an orange or an apple left. Was the thing catered? Great job on the race! Way to push the pain away.....sounds familiar!



2007-10-08 8:15 PM
in reply to: #995006

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Champion
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Brooklyn, NY
Subject: RE: Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon
A word about the post-race smoked salmon bagel:
The race was sponsored by the Norweigian Embassy. (Grete Waitz, fmr NYC Marathon Champion is Norweigian, hence "Grete's Great Gallop"). There were all kinds of Norway-themed things, even the bottled water was from a Norweigian fjord. There were people dressed as vikings, and all kinds of foods from Norway, including smoked salmon.

Normally, smoked salmon wouldn't be on my post-race menu. In fact, I didn't see an apple or a banana anywhere. I kind of ate it without thinking, but in retrospect, it was kinda gross. Also, bagels, as far as I know, are not indiginous to Norway, so you got me there.
2007-10-11 7:14 AM
in reply to: #995006

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Champion
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MA
Subject: RE: Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon

Great job!

 I have finally figured out how to dump water on my head and not get it on my socks...lean over and do my back sort of...avoids the blisters.

Imagine your time in cooler weather? 

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