The Geist Half Marathon has been on my list for a few years and I finally made the trek over to Indianapolis for this one. I came into this race with very modest goals. The Cap City Half was only two weeks ago and I really struggled with my recovery from that one. My goal was to run around 1:55, have some fun, and call it a day.
I'm pretty amazed at how organized this race is considering it's only five years old. The parking situation worried me, but it there was plenty of parking at the local high school. Buses were taking runners to the start line but I just walked. It was only a mile and good for a warm-up. My race bib was for Corral A as I had qualified for preferred seeding. One problem. I had qualified for Corral C. I was in Corral A with only about 30 other people who looked very, very fast. Hilarious.
We started out by making our way across the lake before starting our trek around. I started much like I did at Cap City with two 8 minute miles. Unlike Cap City, I really felt like crap. I was able to slow down by the time we made it to mile 3. And then I actually walked for a little ways. It wasn't painful, but my legs felt dead and just heavy. I tried stretching out some but it really wasn't until mile 6 until I felt good again. Not much to report. The course itself was gorgeous with great views of the lake and plenty of shade along the way. It was one of the hillier courses I've done this year. There were lots of rolling hills throughout the entire race. I just didn't feel great because of that dead feeling. Again, there were no major goals for this race but that doesn't mean I didn't want to have fun.
Despite the crappy feeling, I was still hitting my splits! I was at 58 minutes at the half way mark and finally starting to enjoy myself. Mile 7 included the steepest climb of the race which seemed to go on forever. My one complaint is that they should actually reverse the course so the runners have shade during the second half. It started getting warmer about 8 miles in and there was no shade. On a positive note, the volunteers at this race were some of the best I've seen at any race. From the police officers blocking traffic to the volunteers at the water stops this was first class all the way.
I hit the 10 mile mark at about 1:27 and felt decent. The sun was really beating down on us at this point. I don't have too much to say about the final 5k. I was really just trying to hang in there. More ups and downs before we hit the final downhill and made our way across the lake (gorgeous) to the Geist Marina for the finish. I finished strong in 1:54.21. The finish line area was really pretty cool. I wish I would have felt like sticking around but I really didn't. Just found a quiet area to stretch, grabbed water and a banana, and found my way to the shuttle buses to head back to the high school (point-to-point course). It wasn't hot until well into the second half of the race but I felt drained. I actually didn't feel good for a few hours after the race which was great with the drive back to Dayton. This race is very well organized and scenic. I would recommend it to anyone.
My next half marathon isn't scheduled until late July as I'll make my way to Portland, Maine for the Old Port Half Marathon. Between now and then I'll be running some 5ks.
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