Atlanta Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Atlanta, Georgia
United States
Atlanta Track Club
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 40m 36s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 51/511
Pre-race routine:

Report is a little late, but been busy.
Woke up at 4:15am, ate oatmeal and drank an Ensure. Double checked gear then headed to carpool lot to meet running buddies. Parked near the finish line then walked to Marta station.
Event warmup:

10 minute run followed by some stretching.
Run
  • 1h 40m 36s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 41s  min/mile
Comments:

My plan was to run 8-8:15min/miles and finish around 1hr 45min. After reviewing the course profile the night before, I decided to change the plan and run a little faster during the first 7 miles because I knew the hills would slow me down. When I got to the start area, I saw the timing mats and decided to get as close as possible so I wouldn't have to bob and weave as much. Ended up about three people back from the first timing mat. I also decided to run the first mile a little fast so that not many people would have to bob and weave around me. This worked out great!

Shortly after mile 3 the rain came down, hard! Glad I wore my visor to keep most of it out of my eyes. As expected, Cardiac Hill after the 7 mile mark slowed me down but not as much as I thought it would as I was still under my originally planned pace. Cardiac Hill behind me, and with a 8:14 at mile 8 (my slowest mile), I started to feel some pain in my left IT band (and for the rest of the race) but was still a happy camper! I felt like I could have pushed a little harder, but with this being my second half and not knowing the course that well, I held back a little to save for the finish. Around mile 11, the idea of a big juicy cheeseburger popped in my head and I thought about that a little too long. I looked at my watch and knew I was going to beat my goal so I started to do some more mental calculations and thought about breaking 1hr 40min. I picked up the pace but was surprised by a short climb, still managed a 7:45min/mile. I felt real good, so I picked up the pace some more and was very surprised by the 6:35min/mile as I passed the 13 marker but also realized I wasn't going to be under 1hr 40min. Still sprinted to the finish and couldn't believe I had clocked in at 1hr 40min 36sec! That was 26min 22sec faster than my first half at the Georgia ING in March!
What would you do differently?:

Blew my planned 1hr 45min run out of the water! Wouldn't have done anything differently but this was a fun race, despite the rain, wind, and chill so will continue to work on my run for next year.
Post race
Warm down:

Disappointed with post race food, so went back to the car, changed in to dry clothes and ate a cliff bar. After getting back to the southside, went to the only place serving cheeseburgers at 10am on Thanksgiving Day.....Waffle House! It was a good at the time, and fortunately didn't cause any GI issues later. Went home, cleaned up and drove 2.5hrs to the real meal.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing. I have been working hard on my run and I went with a plan to set a new PR and KILL this race! And did I!

Event comments:

Volunteers were awesome! Really appreciated them being out there in the rain and thanked as many as I could along the way.




Last updated: 2007-12-01 12:00 AM
Running
01:40:36 | 13.1 miles | 07m 41s  min/mile
Age Group: 51/511
Overall: 405/
Performance: Good
Mile 1-6:52; 2-7:24; 3-7:25; 4-7:54, 5-7:52; 6-7:32; 7-7:32; 8-8:14; 9-7:58; 10-8:02; 11-8:06; 12-7:45; 13-6:35
Course: First part of course flat with hills beginning shortly after mile 7.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4