Ah, the joys of living in Northwest Ohio. We've had a rough winter, temperature-wise, so my training has been so-so at best. But today we hit 60 degrees. That's almost unheard of this early in the year. I've been getting in a lot more 4-6 milers the past month or so, but I don't think I went past 8 or 9 in a single run. I was pretty nervous when I signed up for this one, but looked at it as a warm-up for the sure to be challenge awaiting me in Lexington at the end of the month.
This is a no-frills race in Monclova, a southern suburb of Toledo. It starts at the elementary school, does a short out and back for the first three miles, about three more on the Wabash Cannonball Trail, and then another longer out-and-back for the remainder. It's very flat (translation: windy) and fast. It reminded me a lot of the Ohio River Road Runners Club Half Marathon I've done the past few years in Xenia. The race is the same ridiculously low price ($25) while still offering a nice long sleeve tech shirt and finisher medal. I'm becoming a huge fan of these smaller races.
Let's get to my race experience. I had the realistic goal of simply keeping my sub-2:00 streak alive. That's it. I wasn't expecting anything else. We started out with the first out-and-back. I kept it conservative and still finished the first mile in 8:40, even though I was really looking for 9:00. The second mile was similar and I finished this first three mile section at 25:30. Crap. That's a minute and a half faster than I wanted. I wasn't panicking, but I knew that pace was not sustainable. We entered the Cannonball Trail and the wind was in our face. It wasn't terribly strong, or cold, but it was enough to be an annoyance. I don't have splits for this section, but I know I was around 51:30 for the first six miles. Again, whoops. I was hoping for maybe a 54:00 here. But I still felt good. When I hit the 7 mile mark in just under one hour, I really felt like I could get a good strong performance here.
The second out-and-back was the boring part of the course. Not much to report here. Just two long straightaways in farm country. The wind was hitting us on the way out and I overheard some runners complaining about it. Again, I still felt pretty strong here and hit the 10 mile mark in 1:21 and change. I was shooting for 1:30 here, so I was very much ahead of the pace and looking at a possible sub-1:50. We turned around and had a tailwind on the way back. I passed a few people here and felt very strong. The 12 mile mark clocked in at 1:38:15. I kicked it in, knowing a sub-1:50 was a definite, but I was not prepared to run a sub-8:00 last mile. We got back to the school and I crossed the mat at 1:45:27. That's my third fastest time out of 24 half marathon attempts. For the first race of the year, I'll take it!
I don't know what else to say about this, other than I am thrilled with the result. I almost can't believe it. This is the fifteenth straight half marathon in which I've broken the 2:00 mark and it's getting to the point where I'm looking to at least break 1:55 instead. The next race may just challenge my streak, but it should make for a very scenic course.
Next race: Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon- Lexington, KY
