The race itself is very, very small. It begins in Morrow, OH, and takes place on the bike path (there were some rude cyclists included) along the Little Miami River. Despite this being a small, inexpensive race, I really like the medal and tech tee. Well done! It's also nice to be able to park very close to the start line and just hang out before the race. The course itself was a bit dull, but I do a lot of my runs on a similar bike path, so I knew what to expect. I toyed around with trying for a new PR, but it was way too humid to attempt that. On to my breakdown:
Miles 1-5- We started with a quarter mile through the Morrow before hitting the bike path. Within the first couple of miles I noted that my legs felt heavy. I just could not get into a real groove during this whole race. The first mile clocked in at 9:01 and the second clocked in at 18:15 (9:14). I resigned myself to the fact that 9 minute miles would probably be the best I could do. A couple of cyclists came through the first water stop and didn't slow down one bit for runners trying to get water. One shouted out something along the lines of don't get in the way or you will get run over. Umm. Nobody was in the way. I have no problem with cyclists and always run to the far side to allow them to pass, but come on. The race was advertised for quite some time and signs were posted weeks in advance. Have some class. I wish I could say something about the course itself. Not much to say. A bike path, trees on both sides and some views of the river. That's it for 13.1 miles. Anyway, I just kept up with the same pace. The five mile mark came in around 46:15.
Miles 6-10- The six mile mark came in around 55:23. This really isn't far off from what I normally run. I try to hit the half-way point in one hour, so I'm not doing bad considering my legs are still feeling heavy. There is something I'd like to ask about the aid stations. Heed? Really? Does nobody realize that that stuff tastes horrible? I realize we need electrolytes, but how about Powerade or Gatorade? They even had Gatorade at the finish! Heed is just terrible beyond words. I stuck with water instead. The turn-around point was just past the halfway mark and I began to lose track of mile splits after that. I do know that I hit the 10 mile marker in 1:31 and change. I had to kick it in just a bit to ensure I finished in under two hours.
Miles 11-13.1- I sprinkled in some harder running here, but it didn't seem to make a huge difference. The legs still felt off. Not horrible, just off. I hit the 12 mile marker in 1:50 and change, so I knew I had to kick a bit more. The last mile felt decent and I was able to finish in 1:59.39.
Not a whole lot to comment on. The food at the end was sub par. Some bagels, bananas and oranges that all looked bad. The Gatorade and water was all I really wanted anyway. I really did this one just to finish my tenth half marathon. Considering some of the rude cyclists and the boring course, I don't plan on doing this one again. Ah well. Again, at least the tech tee and medal are nice!
Next race: DeGraff Fire Dept. 5k- DeGraff, OH
No comments:
Post a Comment