Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Virginia Beach, Virginia
United States
Elite Racing
91F / 33C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 09m 16s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

NOTE: This is a satellite run in Iraq. I DID NOT run with the rest of the folks in Va. Beach. I just wanted to be part of their group. :)

Went to bed plenty early and woke up at the right time. Started to hydrate and took a PowerGel, in keeping with my usual long run routine. No morning BM but that was to be expected. I had some incontinence the night prior and took an immodium. Checked football scores and then got the last of my gear together. I was heading out the door at 0435 and went to round up P.

Of course, P couldn't be expected to be on time. Show time was 0445 and at 0435, P heads to the latrine. I almost left him. Instead, I allowed him to make me late.
Event warmup:

None due to the fact that we didn't get there until 0455. Gun was at 0500.
Run
  • 2h 09m 15s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Started off at my easy pace, around 9:30-9:40 per mile and tried to get in the groove. After a couple of miles, my HR was at Z1.9, I felt good and bumped it up to 8:45-9:00 per mile. HR elevated Z2-low Z3. I was able to hold this pace through the first hour or so, about 6.5/ 7 miles.

At 1:20 into the race, my legs just started to give out. A high level of fatigue came into my quads. Breathing was okay; HR was Z2-low Z3 but I just couldn't get my legs to move any faster. They just kept getting slower and slower. As my legs got heavier and more fatigued, my pace slowed and my HR with it. I was trotting along at 11:00-13:00 per mile, my HR in Z1, and I couldn't go any faster.

I don't think it was my nutrition. I've been using PowerGels with a lot of success lately. I took one of these every four miles, about every 40 minutes. Hydration could have been an issue. Water was given out in 3-4 oz. servings every two miles but I brought a water bottle to supplement this. I even walked through every water stop and at one point refilled my own water bottle. I'm sure I consumed 40oz.+ of water, which is typical of most of my longer runs.

This performance was almost a full minute per mile slower than my earlier half-marathon. I improved my hydration and nutrition, which were limiters on the last race. That leaves only two other reasons for a poor performance: my training plan and the heat.

As I ranted about earlier in my logs, I'm not really happy with my body's performance under the LSD program. I feel like I have lost a whole lot of speed and this race seemed to show it. Now, to be fair, it looks like I'm going to start some speedwork in my program just next week. I going to stick to this program for the DM Half-Mary in October but I'm not very happy so far.

The second concern is the heat. I beat the heat this year, consuming a lot more water throughtout the run and improving my nutrition. Still, the temps were in the 90's, as opposed to the 70's in May. This heat is going to have an effect on my time as well.

I guess I'm going to have to chalk this up to heat but my training is still suspect.
What would you do differently?:

I can't think of anything I would do differently.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed some fruit and water in the cooling tent and caught up with P and B. Kibbutzed a bit with a lot of the running regulars, we headed to the pool for a cool-down. Water temp was about 80* but still cooler than the air. For the most part, I just walked around and kept cool for a while. A few times I got some bad craps in my hamstrings but nothing that I couldn't stretch.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The heat, some weight,

Event comments:

I actually did the satellite version of the race at Joint Base Balad in Iraq but I wanted to be with the rest of the group. :)




Last updated: 2008-08-28 12:00 AM
Running
02:09:15 | 13.1 miles | 09m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Course: Flat and HOT.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %3%
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]