questions for experienced runners

[Ronda93]

I ran the half marathon last weekend. I made it and that was my goal - check. I have a couple of questions.

My Polar HRM with the footpod speed/distance thing showed the distance as 13.7. I think it's been pretty accurate on my training runs. For a 10k in November it was spot on. Is it possible that there was over a half a mile of weaving going on? I started in corral G. I know I was going back and forth a lot, but that much?

Second, I never needed to pee on the course. I hydrated well Friday and hit the portalet Saturday morning after the bag drop off tent. I carry a bottle with me and filled it several times. Once back at the hotel I urinated several times pretty quickly. Is this okay? Hearing tales of 20 minute waits on the course, I'm glad I didn't need to go. Was I saved by the cool weather?

Thanks for any insights.

Ronda

 

[FireDancer]

To answer you first question, GPS is slightly de-calibrated so it is not perfectly accurate. Courses also must be measured on a tangent. This means that the absolutely shortest route around a course has to be 13.1 miles. Most people don't run that short of a distance, especially on a course with many turns. If you crossed the course to get photos, ran on the outside of turns (especially the long turns like the overpass into Epcot) or did some doubling back to get water at a waterstop that could all add up.

As for peeing, that is not anything to worry about. I use the bathroom a lot pre-race because of all the water I drink the night before and the morning of and then after the race I am pretty much a Roman fountain.

Congratulations on finishing and enjoy what ever down time you take before starting to train again for the next run.

 

[SAHDad]

I ran the half marathon last weekend. I made it and that was my goal - check. I have a couple of questions.

My Polar HRM with the footpod speed/distance thing showed the distance as 13.7. I think it's been pretty accurate on my training runs. For a 10k in November it was spot on. Is it possible that there was over a half a mile of weaving going on? I started in corral G. I know I was going back and forth a lot, but that much?

Second, I never needed to pee on the course. I hydrated well Friday and hit the portalet Saturday morning after the bag drop off tent. I carry a bottle with me and filled it several times. Once back at the hotel I urinated several times pretty quickly. Is this okay? Hearing tales of 20 minute waits on the course, I'm glad I didn't need to go. Was I saved by the cool weather?

Thanks for any insights.

Ronda

First, congrats on running the half.

Regarding your footpod - being off by that much is not atypical, actually. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, the 13.1 (or 26.2, or 3.1, etc) is always measured by the shortest route. It requires perfect tangents, cutting the corners as closely as possible, no weaving, etc. The reality is that no one is actually going to be doing that, so the race is always at least a little longer. Second, yeah, the weaving and dodging can certainly add some distance, and it is possible that you started it a few steps early and ended it a few steps late. The Disney races are USATF certified, so they have to fit within certain minimum and maximums. (Also, all distance races have an extra overage factor, something like .1%, just in case the measuring devices were inaccurate.)

As far as your hydration was concerned - typically, you don't sweat as much in cooler weather, provided that you are dressed appropriately. It doesn't sound like it was much of an issue. At the risk of TMI - your urine should be light in color. If it's clear, you are over-hydrated. If it is dark yellow, you need more water.

 

[pjstevens]

Thanks for asking this, as my Garmin was off and I was wondering how so much. Thinking I am not a 'straight' runner, but certainly didn't weave 1/2 mile worth. Man, how much better my time would of been if I took the 'shortest' route, lol. (honestly wouldn't of made much difference for me, but sounded good).

 

[heatherlynn444]

it's pretty amazing how much we weave in 13 miles isn't it? i tried REALLY hard not to and my garmin said 13.27, so i think I did a pretty good job lol!

 

[ironz]

Ditto to everything FireDancer said...wrt to the Garmin and the peeing. All ok.

Great job!

 

[mkymsehi]

Kidney's stop producing urine after 20 minutes of exercise. It is not unusual to not have to stop during a half or full marathon, despite drinking at every water stop.

So, if you drained your bladder just before starting the race, once you stopped running, the system goes back to work. Thus, your peeing after the race several times is normal.