Lewis and Clark ½ Marathon Race Recap
Lewis and Clark ½ Marathon Race Review
September 18, 2005, St. Charles, Missouri
Updated with Photo Links
Practically ideal running conditions in terms of weather and course layout greeted the several thousand runners who converged on the St. Charles Family Arena parking lot to run either the ½ or full marathon. Unfortunately, the traffic didn't flow quickly enough into the parking lot and many runners rushed to get in place while others just took the situation in stride (yuk, yuk) and accepted that they would start late and go by their chip times.
The terrain was relatively flat but offered variety in texture with concrete, cobblestones, and gravel surfaces throughout the 13.1 miles. The cloud cover and temperatures in the 60s kept my body temperature down and helped me maintain a relatively steady pace per mile. Jockeying for position with small bunches of runners for several miles kept my mind off any fatigue or distress I was feeling. It seemed I had muscle endurance--hopefully a result of recent training--as my pace was more consistent than in the past.
The volunteers and spectators gave good support that helped, as did seeing friends on the out and back portions of the course. Around mile 12, a good hill confronted the racers. After grinding over the top, it was a nice flat slightly downhill to the arena in the distance. As I had been calculating throughout the race, I was on track for a potential PR (personal record). Coming around the final turn I hustled to get under the 1:28 mark and record my new 1/2 PR. It was a satisfying result and an awesome day of being around people with positive energy (25th overall, 5th Age Group 35-39).
Hats off to training partners John from Activeness and Diesel. Diesel ran 23 miles and John did the FULL marathon as training runs for Chicago in three weeks!
Next up for JPD: ½ Ironman National Championships, Kansas City, Missouri, September 25
September 18, 2005, St. Charles, Missouri
Updated with Photo Links
Practically ideal running conditions in terms of weather and course layout greeted the several thousand runners who converged on the St. Charles Family Arena parking lot to run either the ½ or full marathon. Unfortunately, the traffic didn't flow quickly enough into the parking lot and many runners rushed to get in place while others just took the situation in stride (yuk, yuk) and accepted that they would start late and go by their chip times.
The terrain was relatively flat but offered variety in texture with concrete, cobblestones, and gravel surfaces throughout the 13.1 miles. The cloud cover and temperatures in the 60s kept my body temperature down and helped me maintain a relatively steady pace per mile. Jockeying for position with small bunches of runners for several miles kept my mind off any fatigue or distress I was feeling. It seemed I had muscle endurance--hopefully a result of recent training--as my pace was more consistent than in the past.
The volunteers and spectators gave good support that helped, as did seeing friends on the out and back portions of the course. Around mile 12, a good hill confronted the racers. After grinding over the top, it was a nice flat slightly downhill to the arena in the distance. As I had been calculating throughout the race, I was on track for a potential PR (personal record). Coming around the final turn I hustled to get under the 1:28 mark and record my new 1/2 PR. It was a satisfying result and an awesome day of being around people with positive energy (25th overall, 5th Age Group 35-39).
Hats off to training partners John from Activeness and Diesel. Diesel ran 23 miles and John did the FULL marathon as training runs for Chicago in three weeks!
Next up for JPD: ½ Ironman National Championships, Kansas City, Missouri, September 25
posted by JPD at Thursday, September 29, 2005
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