Gregg Pellicone

Race Notes: Well, another marathon under my belt. It didn't go as well as I had hoped, but still went okay. I had hoped to run a 3:35, or at least beat last year's 3:39, but I ran out of steam. I started feeling it around mile 16, as my heart rate was starting to climb, while my speed was not. By mile 22 my pace was tanking, resulting in a 3:49:34. Not too bad, considering I wasted September as a training month. For that matter, August too. I simply failed to devote adequate training time towards this endeavor.

Race Notes: Run 1 controlled pace; T1 okay, ride good pace, had 2min penalty for some unknown reason, T2 could have been a little faster, run 2 mentally not all there; ran alone most of the time, pace was slow until pushed by others catching up.

Race Notes: Previous report lost. Race didn't go well. foot pain started around mile 8 and really flared by mile 18. Lack of rest the night before (motel was a DUMP - noise woke me EVERY HOUR), combined with poor pre-race meal (pancakes, biscuits), left me starving at mile 16. I would have eaten a hamburger by then. Course hillier than expected (how did I miss that on the course profile??). Pace was solid until mile 20, then tanked - 3:40 turned into 4:03 during last five miles. I think I bonked mentally and physically. Post race food was really lacking. It was also challenging trying to find the exit.

Race Notes: Great first Tri. 12th in AG, and 1st in AG 1st timers. Swim went as expected, given I swam once before the race. T1 was dreadfully slow, could easily shave a minute. Bike went well, course was flat and turns were clear and manned. T2 was quick, but could be better, run was solid and fast for me. Had fun and would do this race again.

Race Notes: I have been a case study on how not to detrain. I had signed up for this race, as it was three weeks prior to my full marathon, and great timing on the training schedule (even though I abandoned my plan). What happened this past week was basically me following a checklist of what not to do before a longer race. I loaded up the early part of the week with a couple of long runs (10+), and then one short run. And little stretching. Though I continued to drink lots of water as usual, I went to a three-hour wine tasting the night before the race, where I had plenty. And lots of new, untested food (free food and premium wine, why not?). Combine this with no more than five hours of sleep each of the five previous nights, and you have the making of a bad race. And I tried a new gel before the race. The only thing missing was trying new shoes for the race.
Running this race I had low expectations. I hadn't trained for it, as I had for others, including this race the year before. What I found was I felt great. My perceived effort was lower than any other race, my heart rate was barely above my training pace, yet I was going faster than normal. Not only did I maintain my pace, I PR'd by nearly three minutes, dropping my half-marathon time to 1:41:38.

Race Notes: Felt good. Course was really nice. Got 2nd in my age group. Would have had a better chance for an age group win had a person directing traffic not sent me the wrong way, causing me to go lose over 30 seconds getting it corrected. I would have pressed the pursuit of the person in front of me, but as it was I didn't see him until the last mile. Fun race, with very reasonable entry fee.