General Discussion Race Reports! » San Francisco Half Marathon Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

San Francisco Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
San Francisco, California
United States
RhodyCo Productions
44.6F / 7C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 50m 26s
Overall Rank = 1509/4957
Age Group = 40-45
Age Group Rank = 199/400
Pre-race routine:

I had oatmeal and water for breakfast. I drove over to San Francisco. I did a pretty poor job of planning. I ended up running out to an ATM to get money for the ride. I had my two 10 oz water bottles with a couple of Powerbar Gels loaded into my canteen belt.

Parking was a bear--I should have gotten there a little early. I wore my Aetna windbreaker to the Kaiser 1/2 Marathon. Ok--a little bit childish.
Event warmup:

I ran for 1/4 of a mile and did stretching. Also, I did the Kaiser PT teams' stretching before the 1/2 marathon.
Run
  • 1h 50m 26s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

My goal was to complete this race at a 9:15 pace. As this was my first 1/2 marathon, I didn't know what to expect.

The start of the marathon was pretty quick--compared to what I had imaged. I was slowed up for probably the first 15 second. Once you got past the gate, the field opened up quite a bit. I ended up starting much faster than I intended. Mile two was at 7:42 pace. Smoking! The entire race I was worried that I started too quick. I was doing great until about mile 7. My hips started to tighten up a little. However, I began to run with another runner who what running at the same pace. He was from Florida and talked me through the race. Without him I would have slowed down. Thanks Glenn Vercles! About mile 10 I wanted to quit! What kept me going were two things. First, I thought about my ability to do a HIM for Team in Training--which kept me gong. Second, was visualizing drinking the Guiness that my niece brought me from Ireland! About mile 11, I started to tell myself only eight more laps! My legs and feet were killing me at this point. Also, I noticed that my shoulder were pretty tight, which is a good indication that I was too tense. During the last 3/4 mile, we hit the hill (not much of one at that) and my calf began to cramp up. Finally, we hit the last turn and I saw that wonderful finish line! Whoo Hoo. My speed had probably dropped down to 10 miles per minute.
What would you do differently?:

I had to stop twice during first three miles to tie my shoes. I need to learn to double knot them! Or better than that, I need to get those little lace do-hickies. Also, three steps into the race I realized that I should have gone to the bathroom. I ended up finding a porta-potty about 1/3 through the race.

These two things probably cost me 2 minutes.
Post race
Warm down:

I wandered around for about 20 minutes and stretched out for about 10 minutes.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

As this wasn't one of my top races this year (and maybe it should have been) I did not intend to peak. I ended up sort of peaking. I ended up doing 11 miles two weeks before and the previous week I did a 5 mile hill run.

My nutrition for the last two weeks was not very good. I believe this was the root cause for my leg cramps.

Event comments:

I would do this race again.




Last updated: 2007-01-31 12:00 AM
Running
01:50:26 | 13.1 miles | 08m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 198/400
Overall: 1509/4957
Performance: Average
93 low 164 average 180 max
Course: It starts on John F. Kennedy Drive at Stow Lake Drive and finishes on Martin Luther King Drive near the Great Highway. The course is truly wonderful and mostly down hill.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
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] 5

{postbutton}
2007-02-04 3:53 PM

User image

Expert
683
500100252525
Lafayette, CA
Subject: San Francisco Half Marathon


2007-02-04 4:36 PM
in reply to: #678865

User image

Veteran
188
100252525
Rochester, NY
Subject: RE: San Francisco Half Marathon
Way to push through to the finish! That's a great pace considering everything you had to take care of and endure! WOW! Great job!
2007-02-04 5:53 PM
in reply to: #678865

User image

Subject: RE: San Francisco Half Marathon
nice job.

pretty flat, fast course..

I was out there, too... getting leg cramps for the last 3+ miles though
2007-02-04 10:25 PM
in reply to: #678865

User image

Extreme Veteran
426
10010010010025
Bay Area- California
Subject: RE: San Francisco Half Marathon
Hit your goal pace with room to spare!  Fantastic job out there!
2007-02-05 1:32 PM
in reply to: #678865

User image

Pro
3730
2000100050010010025
NorCal
Subject: RE: San Francisco Half Marathon
Great race, congrats!
2007-02-06 7:54 AM
in reply to: #678865

User image

Master
1588
1000500252525
San Francisco
Subject: RE: San Francisco Half Marathon
Great job on a great finish time on your first half mary. The parking was worse than I expected too. Laces, peeing, and nutrition are all good lessons learned which you can take with you to your future races. Well done.


2007-02-07 6:53 PM
in reply to: #678865

User image

Expert
1205
1000100100
Herndon VA
Subject: RE: San Francisco Half Marathon

Congratulations on a great race.  That's amazing that you beat your goal time by so much especially with all the stops.   That's a great start to the racing year.

Ernie

2007-02-07 7:38 PM
in reply to: #678865

User image

Master
1862
10005001001001002525
San Mateo, CA
Subject: RE: San Francisco Half Marathon
Congratulations on your race!
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » San Francisco Half Marathon Rss Feed