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Last Sunday I ran the Greensboro Half Marathon, yes I know it was Mothers Day. I guess, I dedicated this event to all the mothers I know, but especially to my wife (Super Mom) and my Mom. The Greensboro Half is part of the Race 13.1 Series.  Last year I ran this event, in which I PR for the half but it was a different course. One thing that I had been struggling for the last few events in that my CGMS (Continuous Glucose Monitoring Sensor) was giving a problem with erroneous readings and warnings on runs in which my exertion/effort was high. Last month  I continued to chat with my Medical team from UNC and they recommended to switch the location of the CGMS sensor to my legs instead of my abdomen. I tried already for one sensor and I was surprised about how close the readings were to the calibration measurements. This is now my second time using having the sensor in the new location and I was looking forward to seeing how well it will behave during this event.

This morning, the usual breakfast at 3:30 AM and the banana for about an hour prior to the start. The sugars this morning were perfect for running and the sensor was very accurate. Traveled about an hour to the event with my friend Roland. We got to there with plenty of time to pick the bib and wait for the event to start. Today was warmer than last year but still, it was a great temperature for running.

The 13.1 Race events are very well organized. Plenty of porta potty, even with over 1100 runners (Smaller turnout than last year, perhaps it was because it was Mother’s day. BTW: Happy Mother’s Day) I lined up near the 9:00-minute mile pacer. (This was strange this time because normally they have time target pacers, not pace time pacers.)  The start was good, there were plenty of room to run even with a lot of runners at the start.

Miles 1-4: First couple miles were ups and down. I did not check the course beforehand and assumed it was going to be similar than last year. I was wrong the up and downs were a constant dynamic in this new course. I decided to take Gatorade instead of water to see if I could have a solid run without taking a gel. I was surprised that mt CGMS alarms were not sounding like normally does. By this time in the previous events, the sensor readings will start to jump around. This time it was steady reading, trending slightly up, but no alarm, no jumping around. I was feeling good and very happy.

Miles 5-7: Mile 6 and 7 were mostly flat with the single turnaround. A quick look and the glucose reading, very steady and within running range. I kept pushing the pace a bit before the turn around I saw Arvind, running strong we high five and continue our ways. After the turnaround, I came across Roland and a few other friends. Roland was running strong as well, another shout out and I pressed on.

Mile 8-13:  At mile 9 I knew a PR was not possible today, too many ups and downs to be able to sustain a steady fast pace. I was dominating the uphills, by constantly passing most runners, but then during the downhills, I was not able to increase the pace enough and the same runners will pass me again. But I continued to press the pace to see what I can achieve this time. I looked once again my CGMS and steady reading and stable sugars. I concentrated on my breathing and once again I pressed on the pace during the uphill portions. No PR today but a good event. My friend from Raleigh Trail Runners club (RTR) Arvind finished 3rd in our age group. And Roland did fantastic in his race as well. It was a great day and great event and changing the sensor location to my leg was the right call and it seems to be a really good decision for future events.

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{f1}Month/Year;;;{f1}Event;;;{f1}Location;;;{f1}Type;;;{f1}Time;nn;
May-17;;;Race 13.1 Greensboro;;;NC;;;Half;;;1:48:43;nn;
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Event Highlight & Learning Points;nn;Highlights:

Course: Great ample road right of the start. A new course with lots of hills (Small ups and downs). Water station setup and distances were really good. Pretty well staffed too.

Venue: At finish, excellent food (Wraps, bananas, snacks, …) and plenty to drink.

Expo: No Expo

Weather: Sunny skies, 52º at the start, 63º at the end, with 82% humidity.

T1D: Sugars within running range at start. CGMS worked perfectly (New sensor location: Leg).

Fueling: Pre-Race: 1 serving Hot Cereal and Latte. One Banana one-hour before the start of the event.

Race: Gatorade at the water station.

Post: Water, Cliff Bar

Learning Points:

•  Good to start slightly behind the target pacer.
  
• Need to pay more attention to changes to the course.
  
• Trying new location for the CGMS worked out perfectly. Very happy with results.
  

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