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Philadelphia Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
40F / 4C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 34m 27s
Overall Rank = 197/4325
Age Group = Male 15-19
Age Group Rank = 15/54
Pre-race routine:

Went to bed at 9pm, as I had to get up at 410am for the race. Living in a college dorm, however has its drawbacks, as I seemed to be the only one who wanted to do that. Let it suffice to say that the dorm was obnoxiously loud, and I got 3-3.5 hours sleep (non-consecutive).

Got up, showered, drove to Phily (80 miles). Ate a Clif Bar on the way. Got there and realized I was supposed to have picked up my race packet the day before, something they could have communicated better IMO. 25 bucks and some annoyed looks from race officials later, I had my number (though no t-shirt)... what a rip off.
Event warmup:

I did some light jogging, but not much. My knee had been killing me all week (hadn't been able to do cardio at all because of it), and I didn't want to risk wearing it out before the race.
Run
  • 1h 34m 27s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

Race started out well for the first three or so miles. I did those right on the pace I wanted to keep for the whole race (6:20/mi), but things came apart quickly after that. My lack of sleep just killed me, I think. My pace steadily declined for the remainder of the race, despite the fact that my lungs weren't working very hard, and my legs weren't hurting. I simply had to energy to muster. I had that bonking feeling for the last 10 miles, with just zero energy in the tank. My splits got worse and worse, and I got passed by loads of people every mile (and did almost no passing of my own). Even when I crossed the finish line, I wasn't breathing hard, my cardiovascular system was practically unworked, but even moving was way too hard. As the race progressed, my goals changed (6:20 pace, to 6:45, to sub 7, to sub 1:35 overall time), which was demoralizing. My splits were:

Mile 1: 6:20
Mile 2: 12:40 (6:20 mile)
Mile 3: 19:00 (6:20 mile)
Mile 4: 25:33 (6:33 mile)
Mile 5: 32:20 (6:47 mile)
Mile 6: 39:30 (7:10 mile)
Mile 7: 47:00 (7:30 mile)
Mile 8: 54:30 (7:30 mile)
Mile 9: 1:02:15 (7:45 mile)
Mile 10: 1:10:00 (7:45 mile)
Mile 11: 1:17:50 (7:50 mile)
Mile 12: No clock (not sure why)
Mile 13.1: 1:34:27 (7:52/mi pace for 2.1 miles)

While I set a PR (first half-marathon race, so just by finishing I got it), I'm not happy with this race. On the bright side, maybe being able to do this with 0 fuel in the tank is a good sign for the future. Obviously I came in no where near where I thought I should, or my training runs predicted, but this just gives me more motivation to train smart and kill this time in my next race. Plus I did this on 20 miles or less per week, I'm optimistic that once I up this and get some sleep I'll be doing better.
What would you do differently?:

Spend the night before in Phily so that I could get more sleep, and wouldn't have an 80 mile (each way) commute.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Almost no sleep.




Last updated: 2007-11-18 12:00 AM
Running
01:34:27 | 13.1 miles | 07m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 15/54
Overall: 169/4325
Performance: Bad
Course: Flat first 6 miles, small hills through mile 10, downhill/flat to finish
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2007-11-18 3:37 PM

Regular
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Subject: Philadelphia Marathon


2007-11-18 5:55 PM
in reply to: #1059210

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Veteran
269
1001002525
Media, PA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon

Stephen,

Great run today despite the set backs you had occurred. It was pretty cold out there as well so that may have played a factor in the drop in pace. Like you said though, its just something to branch off of and work on for next 1/2 marry or next time you do this race in particular.  Also some food for thought, once you hit Chestnut street the street narrowed and it was like a cattle herd there with slower splits.  Keep up the great work bud.

2007-11-19 1:01 PM
in reply to: #1059210

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Pro
4292
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Evanston,
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Marathon
Fantastic job considering you were running on far-from-ideal rest!  Congratulations.
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