I made the trek from Dayton to Louisville this weekend to mark Kentucky off my list. This was an inaugural event, but put on by the same people who organize the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon. I figured there would be no problems since that race gets such great reviews. The organization for this race was definitely top notch. No major issues that I can think of from this race, but there is room for improvement.
Packet pick up was on Friday and I got to Louisville at about 2:00. Got right in to the Galt House Hotel for pick-up which was very unspectacular. One booth for bib numbers, one for the T-shirt and one for free gels (this was a nice touch) and that was that. I was disappointed that there wasn't a local running store represented, but I didn't need to buy anything anyway. The shirt is a very nice long sleeve Adidas tech tee. I don't have too many long sleeve tech tees, so I am happy with that.
I woke up on Saturday at about 6:00 and found a parking garage downtown at around 7:15. It was about a mile walk to the start line at Waterfront Park. I had no problem with this as I was parked closer to the finish line so I could get out at a reasonable time since I had a ticket to the Louisville-Pitt game at noon. The walk also gave me a chance to warm up. The weather was perfect in the mid-40s but the wind made it feel much colder in the morning. Gear check was a breeze and I made my way to the start line with plenty of time to warm up. My goal for this race was to just run at a comfortable pace and hit a 1:57-1:58. I don't have many exact splits, but here are my thoughts from the race.
The start wasn't much of a cluster at all. I was able to start at a comfortable pace and hold steady throughout the run. We made our way from the park through part of the downtown area heading east. The first few miles were around 9:00 each and I believe I was at 27:07 for the first three miles. That's about where I like to be at for the first few miles as I've finally been hitting negative splits at these races. The first half of the race was very scenic. We made our way to Cherokee Park. This is one of the prettiest parks I've ever gone through at one of these races. There was an abundance of fall colors in the park and we were lucky enough to spend a few miles making our way around the park. The only hills that I noticed were in this park, but nothing horrible. Just the rolling variety. We made our way to the six mile mark just outside of the park. I hit this split in about 52 minutes. I'm guessing I was around 57 minutes at the halfway point of the race.
While the first half of the race was very scenic, the second half was not. We made our way through some parts of town that have clearly seen better days. The crowd support was pretty sparse, too. I kept at a steady pace and started to pick it up some around mile 7. I wasn't thinking about setting a new PR, but I did think I had an excellent shot at a sub 1:55. The only real issue I had with this race was that the course support seemed to disappear during the second half. There were aid stations at every mile during the first half. I only counted three during the second half. And there was a huge gap between mile 9 and 12. That aside, I kept up a strong pace and hit the 10 mile mark in 1:26. As you know by now, I usually try to hit ten miles in 1:30.
The final three miles wound back through the downtown area and flew by for me. I always try to finish the final 5k strong and I definitely did so yesterday. My body is used to running this distance now so I never felt like I was straining too much. I hit the finish line in 1:50.56. This is my second fastest time, being behind my Air Force Half time of 1:50.01. I finished 416/2326 overall.
My confidence is obviously sky high as I came to Louisville just wanting to break 2 hours and prep for the next race. It was only four weeks ago when I did the Columbus Marathon, so to run a 1:50.56 just blows my mind. I have one race left on my 2011 calendar and it's in three weeks. I could very well try for a new PR to finish the year. We'll wait and see.
Next race: LaPorte By the Bay Half Marathon- LaPorte, TX
