
I ran to day for an easy 30 minutes around my office. The left side of abdomen is slightly strained. I was hoping that running slowly will loosen it up by getting some blood flow going. Unfortunately, it feels the same. It is nothing significant though, just a minor inconvenience.
Looking back at the half-marathon on Sunday, I had a chance to reflect on the race. Here are my observations:
- The course is tough, but I already knew that going in. My race planning was quite good. I could have used some more sleep. My performance could have been just a bit better.
- My nutrition planning and execution were also quite good. Eating pasta for two dinners before the race was a good idea. Eating about 300 calories 3-4 hours before the race was also a good idea.
- I could have run just a bit faster for the first couple of miles shaving down a minute or so from my race time. I felt like I still had a bit left in the tank when I finished.
- I’m glad I finished strong. My last mile was my fastest.
- The race itself was more crowded than expected, especially at the start. There is nothing different I could have done, but I’m certain that I lost a few seconds in the first few hundred yards.
- My heart-rate and pace management were also quite good. I could have gone just a bit faster in the middle miles, but maybe I would have lost steam at the end
If I had to rank the different aspects of the race, here would be my rankings:
- Pre Race
- Sleep: D
- Nutrition: B+
- Beginning Miles of the Race (miles start to 4)
- Heart-rate: B-
- Pace: B-
- Nutrition: A
- Middle Miles of the Race (miles 4 to 10)
- Heart-rate: B
- Pace: B
- Nutrition: A
- Middle Miles of the Race (miles 11 to finish)
- Heart-rate: A
- Pace: A+
- Nutrition: A
Overall Grade: B