Race Report: Amsterdam Half Marathon 2021

This post covers a race rather than a training run that I could make my own route for, but I'm still counting it as the fourth in my Let's Run series.

For a quick overview of the series, please read the intro post.

Amsterdam Half (and Episode 4)

Race Start

The atmosphere was electric. Possibly because my frame of reference has been thrown off balance by the last couple of years of isolation from big races, but nobody could stay still in the corral at the start. Everyone finally had their chance to let loose after the isolation and enjoy the moment of excitement, compounded ten-thousandfold. Hopefully the video gives some appreciation of how it felt!

Going into the race, my legs didn't feel as well-rested as I hoped. Most likely it came from a combination of not tapering enough and walking and cycling too much during the day before. At first I felt fine, but later on as the kilometers racked up, the fatigue announced its presence. Indeed, I might have started off a little bit too quickly, but I settled back down around 5k in.

Progression

Since I filled myself up on water before the race, I felt fine to skip the first couple of stations. At this point the distance markers cruised by with minimal input from me, but unfortunately much of the first half of the race was along large roads and highways with very sparse crowd support or notable scenery. I tried to stay within my target of 4:25 per kilometer, and my watch helped by staying very close to the posted distance markers the entire time.

Around kilometer 14 I began to feel a bit of struggle staying at the same pace. It felt like I couldn't lift my legs anymore; past a certain point I'd feel a catch in my (right) hip flexor and get stuck. At this point I kept my mind on counting down the minutes, focusing on how each step brought the finish line closer. Actually I wasn't just counting, I was constantly updating calculations to estimate my finish time against my personal best from 2 years ago. I did a lot of base-60 arithmetic in that stretch.

Finish

Eventually I reached the Olympic stadium, with the finish line following a 200-meter half-loop around the track. I still couldn't kick my legs as far as I wanted, but I compensated with cadence and sprinted to the end. Now looking back, I wonder if maybe I should have gone just a little slower so I could focus on a happy expression for the photos?

Video: https://youtu.be/gBtz03F7vCQ

See how I did on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/6126480459