The Ohio River Road Runners Club Half Marathon was held this morning in Xenia, OH. I decided to run this one as a tune-up for the Glass City Half Marathon in two weeks. The goal was to run around 2:00 and shoot for a solid time at the next one. Plans often change. It was around 35 degrees at race start and it felt perfect! I decided at the last minute to see how the first five miles went and then go from there.
Before going through my breakdown, I do want to encourage any readers to check out this race. I really wasn't sure what to expect (Xenia isn't exactly a destination marathon) and was looking at a potentially boring course. A major plus is the cost which is $25 for early registration. That's the cheapest half I've found! And the race organizers don't skimp at all. The registration fee includes the run on a beautiful course, an awesome tech tee, classy finisher's medal, and hot food at the finish. This wouldn't be my choice for a first marathon (only 165 in the full) but it's a nice race overall. On to the breakdown:
Miles 1-3- The first few miles are in town as we headed north from the YMCA, turned around, and headed back south towards the rails to trails that runs through Xenia. The road is a little uneven on this portion so you really have to watch the potholes. My first mile clocked in at 9:18. I was shooting for 9:30. Second mile was 18:28 (9:10). Whoops. Didn't mean to start out this fast. Unfortunately, clocks weren't available at most of the miles after these first few.
Miles 4-6- A short little jaunt on the trail, then south out of town. There were some nice rolling hills along this part of the course to break up the monotony. I can't stand completely flat courses, so this was nice. At around mile 5 we came back to the trail. A large part of this race is one long straightaway. I was running at a nice pace and passing some people along the way. The clock at mile 6 said 54:47. I was running even splits and feeling pretty good. This was when I made the decision to push the pace and see if I could run hard for the remainder.
Miles 7-9- More of the trail. Stopped at one water spot for some Gatorade. They only had lemon-lime. Yuck. Mile 8 was on a little side road that runs to Central State University. We turned back around at the university and headed right back to the trail. Still feeling pretty good and really pushing my pace.
Miles 10-12- Hit the 10th mile marker at 1:28. I usually aim to hit it at 1:30. Kept running even splits and even chatted with another runner for a half mile or so. He was running his first half and said, "I love it!" That's what we like to hear. At the 12th mile marker we were just getting back to Xenia.
Final push- The last bit of the race was on the road we took south out of town, so it was easy to tell exactly how much was left. I really finished strong during this last mile and still felt good. Final time- 1:54.25. Overall, this was a major confidence boost. Now is a brief recovery before the next one.
Next race: Glass City Half Marathon- Toledo, OH
