Monster Half Marathon Race Report

I have officially finished my first half marathon!!

I made my goal of finishing in under 2:30...my official time was 2:27:40. I went out too fast. I knew it, but couldn't seem to slow myself down! I was aiming for 11:00 mpm to start and then reassess around mile 5...well, my splits were:

1 - 10:25 - Not too bad of a start, I think I placed myself well enough in the crowd.
2 - 9:59 - Obviously letting the excitement get to me a little. Must slow down!
3 - 10:26 - Slowed down as much as I felt I could...I could not get my legs to go any slower. I figured at least I could bank some time for a walk break later in the race.
4 - 10:18 - Speeding up again...I can't seem to control my legs!
5 - 10:56 - This mile included a little walking to take a gel...then right back into the flow.
6 - 10:35 - Alot of people were passing me at this point. The 10 mile race followed the route for the first 10 miles and started about 10 minutes after the half marathon. I had to keep reminding myself that these were the really fast 10 milers that were passing me, not the halfers.
7 - 11:03 - Feeling in the groove, although the hills were getting to me at this point.
8 - 10:48 - Feeling good...only 5 miles left.
9 - 11:23 - We merged with the 5K and 5K9 (with dogs) races for a while...this was really a mess!
10 - 12:02 - We split from the rest of the groups and it was just the halfers for the rest of the race.
11 - 11:22 - Wow, cold wind blowing over Lake Calhoun surprised me. I really tried to push myself to go faster...once again the legs were cooperating.
12 - 12:05 - This is were I really started to struggle...forced to switch to a run/walk.
13 - 12:29 - Continuing to struggle, but determined. I really missed the crowd support here...there wasn't much at all around Lake Calhoun (last 3.1 miles).

As you can see, I didn't follow my own plan very well and crashed by the end. When I got to the end, I had to fight for a glass of water. There only seemed to be one jug left and a big crowd around it. A little boy tried to cut in front of me when I was close to getting my glass and I am pretty sure I gave him a pretty severe evil stare. I felt a little bad about that, but I needed the water more than him! Once I got the water, I went and sat down near the finish line to rest, stretch, and eat/drink.

The most painful part of the whole day was walking back to my car! I had to park about a mile away and my legs and the tops of my feet were killing me (I think my laces were too loose). I ended up taking my shoes off about halfway to the car and that helped the feet.

My legs are still sore today (2 days later) but it is just muscle soreness, no joint issues. (My knee did not hurt at all before, during, or after the race!! YAY!) I did a very easy run/walk on the treadmill this morning and I was surprised that it actually felt good. I only went a mile, and don't think I could have gone further, but it really loosened up the muscles.

I definitely plan on running another half...hopefully I will learn how to control my legs before the next one.

Stats
Race: Monster Half Marathon (Team Ortho Event)
Date: October 25, 2008
Distance: Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
Official Time: 2:27:40
Average Pace: 11:17
Overall Place: 908/1018
Place in Age Group: 392/443