Publix Georgia Half Marathon - Race Report

Publix Georgia Half Marathon
Date of Race: 03/20/2011

Total Time = 1h 47m 19s

Overall Place = 1102/10898

Age Group = Male 40-44

Age Group Place = 145/822


First let me start by saying, this was my fastest half marathon so far! I was 14:25 faster than last year on the same course. That's over 14 minutes! I haven't even been running as much as I should, only 2 days a week. I'm extremely happy with my time and I'll be back next year for another PR. I came with a race strategy suggested by one of our coaches.


I was conservative with my strategy and was about 5 bpm lower than what the coach suggested. I think this worked for me since I didn't have a lot more at the end to push harder. My goal was to start a bit slower than my race pace and gradually increase it and use my heart rate as my guide. I used a Sharpie and wrote it all on my arm so I wouldn't forget.


At the top was my goal for a race pace to hit my first goal of 1:50:00. If I could keep this pace or faster, I was going to finish with a great race. The numbers on the left are the distances and on the right are my target heart rates. Everything went according to plan until I got to mile 11. My knee started hurting a little bit, but I pushed through it and concentrated on my form, since that was probably what was cause of the pain since I was getting tired. The other problem was that I couldn't raise my heart rate any higher than 170. I had stopped at all the aid stations and drank water and even a little Gatorade. Even though I drank a cup of water around mile 11, my mouth was completely dry during that last mile. By the time I crossed the finish line my mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. Maybe I should have had more water and that would have allowed me to push up my heart rate and my pace.


Anyway, here is the data from my Garmin. The milage is a bit off because I use the footpod and there's always a margin of error with that.


Click "View Detail" to see all the heart rate, pacing, & timing info.


I averaged 164 BPM which is good since that's my Lactate Threshold, but I couldn't raise it above 170 towards the end. My pace remained consistent throughout and my stride rate was right where it needed to be around 90 strides per minute. I wanted to do negative splits, but on a course with so many hills, that's harder said than done. 


I had a bowl of raisin bran with a banana & soy milk followed by a cup of coffee. I drank a bottle of 1st Endurance EFS mix on the way to the race and a Cliff Shot right before the start of the race. During the race I drank Gatorade at the first aid station and almost immediately didn't sit well in my stomach. I switched to water the rest of the race and I think I took a sip of Gatorade towards the end because I wanted something that was flavored and then quickly drank a cup of water. As I mentioned before, I might have been a little dehydrated towards the end. I decided not to carry any water with me and rely only on the aid stations. That worked out okay for me, but I'll have to reconsider this for my half iron distance race in May. It's supposed to be a lot warmer and I'll need to take in more fluids. I may rely only on the aid stations, but I'll need to bring some electrolyte pills and make sure I'm sufficiently hydrated on the bike.

I was able to get some pics before the start of the race and got in on the group picture with the Atlanta Triathlon Club. We had approximately 100 members participating today. We didn't all gather at the same time, but this was as close to a group picture that we'll be able to get. Huge thanks to my club mates and coaches. Their support and advice made my goals attainable and a reality. Can't wait until next year and how much faster I'll get throughout the year.