Berlin Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Berlin, NRW
Germany
Berlin Vattenfall
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 14m 13s
Overall Rank = 10689/24551
Age Group = M40
Age Group Rank = 2157/13886
Pre-race routine:

Walked the day before. Took Josh to Bambini Run and walked from subway to the sport hall. Slept ca. 7 hours, got up ca. 8:30. Ate one large bowl of oatmeal with 30 grams of protein powder and milk. Drank one cup of coffee. Drank a little bit of water and ate one granola bar. Did 15 minutes of stretching. Took taxi to race site. Found my changing area and put on running clothes. Wore full winter running gear--full coverage, nutrition belt with bottle of water with power gel, and power bar. iPod nano with ear buds.
Event warmup:

Warmed up with some leg stretches and extremely light jogging. Walked briskly and lightly jogged from start section to the starting line.
Run
  • 2h 14m 13s
  • 21 kms
  • 06m 23s  min/km
Comments:

I ran considerably faster than usual. I grouped up with a couple of girls who were running at a pretty good pace early on and stayed with them for 90% or the course. The last 25% or so got difficult. Legs got sore during last part. Feet got sore. Power bar and Power gel kept my leg muscles working. I feel that I could have benefitted from more. I peaked and recovered from the half way mark--I think because of nutrition intake.
What would you do differently?:

More planned out nutrition--including what I eat before the race. A belt with more water and power gels. I went for an additional gel in my belt to find that I forgot to put it there. Instead I ate a power bar, which may have made the running more difficult for a while--although it ultimately did fuel me. Definitely more water. More stretching and warm up before and after the race.
Post race
Warm down:

Jogged ca. 5 minutes out of the finnish line. But very slow. I really felt it when I went down to a Zone 1 jog. I did ca. 5-10 minutes of leg stretching, inner thighs, ass, and back. Drank two small cups of warm tea, which was the perfect thing in the cold weather. Later I had a sports drink, a Coke and more water. Ate a little bit of white bread. When I got home, I ate two corny bars before a hot bath. Long hot bath followed by a quick cold shower. Oiled up.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Organization of training plan and nutrition.

Event comments:

Great first half-marathon. My overall performance exceeded my expectations. I pushed a little harder than on runs, which was appropriate for the race. I would do it the same way if I had to do it again. At the same time I am glad that I did NOT push more or go any faster than I did.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2007-11-03 12:00 AM
Running
02:14:13 | 21 kms | 06m 23s  min/km
Age Group: 0/13886
Overall: 0/24551
Performance: Good
Although I felt great--especially for the first 3/4 of the run--my hear rate was higher than usual. It started in the low 160's and went up from there. Average heart rate was 165-168, but it did not feel like it. However, I later figured out that I was running faster than my practice runs with which I was estimating my performance for this race. Two weeks ago, the Purim run of 18 K took ca. 2 hours and 10 minutes. So finishing 21 K in 2 hours and fifteen minutes is faster. My hear rate peaked at ca. 189! A new high for me.
Course: Beautiful giant lap through the hearts of Berlin--Mitte, Unter den Linden, North Charlottenburg, The Palace, Neue Kant Strasse, Charlottenburg, Ku-Damm, Potsdamer Platz, Mitte, and to the Museum Island. Level for the most part. Dry pavement.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4