I have one word to describe this race. Hot. No, let me edit that. Freakin' hot! It was already muggy when I got up at 6:30 this morning. This was one of those times where an 8:00 start wouldn't have even helped us out much. But it was still a fun time and I'm guessing there were a good 1,000 runners or so.
The course itself would be absolutely perfect for a PR if race conditions are good. It starts outside of UD arena, runs across the Stewart St. bridge, along the river, and back to UD (with a nice downhill) finishing with a lap around the track.
I decided to not even attempt to race this thing, especially with a half marathon in 12 days. I even wore my iPod, which I never do at 5ks. After going through warm-ups and already building up a nice sweat, I made my way to the start line.
The congestion at the start of this race was more than I was expecting. It's usually not a big deal for me at half marathons because I start out very slow at those. I had to weave around a lot of people through the first half mile or so. It got better after that and I settled into a nice little groove. The first mile was around 8 minutes even, which I was fine with today. The fact that this is one of the few days we haven't had rain made me appreciate just being outside. The second mile was about the same as the first. We turned around by the river and made our way back to UD. I'm thinking I was just under 16 minutes at this point. The third mile was fine as we made our way back across the bridge and down a nice little hill to the stadium. I passed probably around a dozen people going down the hill and around the track. Final time- app. 23:48. About a minute slower than Vandalia, but about all race conditions would allow.
Nothing major is planned prior to the next race. I may try to get some speedwork in and probably a 7-8 miler next weekend. My key race for the first half of the year is coming up fast.
Next race: Carmel Half Marathon- Carmel, IN
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