Date of Race: 11/24/11
Total Time = 1h 45m 17s
Overall Place = 1218/8528
Age Group = Male 40-44
Age Group Place = 146/657
Pre-race: I woke up early and had my normal cereal with soy milk and banana, followed by a cup of coffee. I had some extra time and did some stretches at home. Specifically with the foam roller and my IT Band. I've been having issues and was concerned when it would act up. I didn't have high hopes for a great race. I had been drinking plenty water the day before and drank a bottle of gatorade during the drive and while I sat in the car before the start. I also took 2 salt stick. This is probably one of my favorite races due to the location. I'm less than 10 minutes away and parking has been so easy the last 2 years. I had plenty of time once I parked. I wasn't too sure what to wear, except that I was definitely going with my tri shorts. I had the option for additional layers and decided against it and went with my long sleeve ATC tech shirt.
Warm-up: I did a light run to the porta potty and then another run towards the start. I stretched out a bit more and then found my way to a corral. I was assigned corral A, but started in B with Lauren Fogarty. I thought she'd be someone I could pace off of, since I've been having problems with the Garmin footpod and didn't have a chance to recalibrate.
Run: As I mentioned, the footpod has not been accurate as of late so I was going to hit the lap function on my watch at each mile to get my splits and figure out my pace. I missed a couple mile markers.
Mile 2: 16:38
Mile 3: 7:57
Mile 4: 7:57
Mile 6: 16:12
Mile 7: 7:53
Mile 8: 8:13
Mile 9: 7:53
Mile 10: 7:52
Mile 11: 8:08
Mile 13: 16:32
I was really surprised as I looked at my splits after each mile and I was worried that I was going too fast and would blow up at the end. I carried my own hydration of Gatorade on my Fuelbelt and that kept me from slowing down at the aid stations. My strategy is to carry my own fluids when I'm looking to PR.
Lauren was a great pacer. Thank you. We kept leap frogging for at least 7 miles. Looking at the splits was encouraging. Seeing sub 8:00/miles really got me motivated and I thought about pushing it just a little bit, but I knew I needed to save some for the end. I remember last year's race and I walked when I got to Oakland Cemetery. I was not as tired as I expected. I felt stronger going up those hills than the previous year. Even around the Capitol, I was moving at a good pace. Once past the Capital, I was on the home stretch, less than half a mile. I started to pick up the pace. As I passed the Holiday Inn, I felt my right calf muscle twitch a bit. I backed off as I didn't want my calf to cramp up. I tried to pick the pace back up for a final sprint and once again my calf signaled that it wasn't going to happen.
Looking over the splits, I really happy with my performance. I was consistent throughout with sub 8 splits and only slowed down marginally (:6 - :15 seconds) when I hit the hills. This is the strongest I have ever felt during a race and I didn't experience any ITB issues at all. Half marathon is definitely my preferred distance or at least the distance my body seems to like. I was able to take off 9:04 minutes from last year and 2:01 minutes from the Publix half in March.
Total Run Time: 1h:45m:17s
Post Race: I waited at the end of the finish chute and met up with Lauren.I knew she could be far behind and she wasn't. Ate a banana, drank water and powerade and met up with some other ATCers. I later went to check out the kids 1 mile run as my nephew was doing his first run.
What would you do differently: If there was anything as a perfect race, this was it. I wouldn't do anything differently. I was concerned about the IT Band and I hadn't really done much running since the full marathon only 4 weeks prior. I had been using the foam roller and doing weights, focusing on my legs. I actually worked out the day before, using lighter than normal weights (high reps), just to kind of warmup or get my legs fired up for the next day. I think this worked.
Rate your overall experience with this race: This is a great race and I would do it again every year. I'm hoping that I'll be back to do this next Thanksgiving.
This has been a great year of racing for me and I can't thank the coaches enough. Jim, you've got a great thing going here. Through the training session and social activities, I've gotten to know most of you. It has been an awesome experience to not only compete and train along side of all of you, but to call you friends. I do plan on coming back after a year and I know none of you are going to slouch and neither will I.
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