I signed up for this race soon after the events at the Boston Marathon. Many races around the country were experiencing record numbers of runners the week after the horrifying attacks. In our own meager way, we were showing support for the people of Boston and showing that we will not change the way we live our lives.
This race was held at the Hoover Reservoir in Westerville, OH. 5k and 10k options were also available. It was the first ten miler I've ever entered and I decided to just take it easy and treat it like a training run. After running a 10k PR the week prior and with the Cap City Half Marathon coming up, it really was my only option.
I arrived at the race an hour early (as always) and could not believe how cold it was for late April! There was frost on the ground! Most runners were staying in their cars until they absolutely had to get out. So, seeing as I was treating this as nothing more than a training run, I decided I might as well be comfortable and threw on a long sleeve tech tee and my lightweight jacket from the Columbus Marathon. I never wear that much in races, but it didn't look like I would be overheating. The race started at the Bel Lago restaurant and ran along the reservoir for the first few miles. There was little to no congestion because the other races started 15 minutes after ours. I started off at a modest pace, hitting 9:21, 9:15, and 9:05 for the first three miles. My legs were still feeling my 10k attempt from the previous week. We crossed the dam during the third mile, which gave us a gorgeous view of the reservoir. Most of the rest of the course meandered through some neighborhoods east of the lake. The scenery wasn't bad and there were some nice hills to break up the race a bit. Surprising, considering the Columbus area is, for the most part, flat. I picked it up some during this stretch and began hitting sub-9:00 miles for the rest of the race. My modest goal of finishing below 1:30 was well within reach.
There were some nice downhills on the way back to the dam, which we crossed again, on the way back to Bel Lago. I was just over one hour at the seven mile mark and made the final push. We made our way back the same exact way we came, so I knew what to expect. I was able to catch a few people during this stretch, too.
Final time- 1:25:09 64/205 Overall
Not a bad effort for a last minute training race. I normally could have come close to breaking 1:20. The Capital City Half Marathon is in just under a week. I am not expecting another PR effort like my last Cap City attempt, but the weather is certainly looking better than last year. Early reports are looking at mid-50s when the race starts. Compare that with the blistering heat and humidity of last year's race.
Next race: Capital City Half Marathon- Columbus, OH
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Run the Res 10k
This past weekend was the Run the Res 10k in Fostoria, Ohio. If you've been following the blog, you know about my aversion to 10ks. I can't really explain it. If I make a mistake in a 5k, I can get through it because it's just 3.1 miles. But a mistake in a 10k can be disastrous. The weird thing is that I had placed in my only 10k attempts (BOSS Summer Run in 2002, Ralph Wade in 2011, and Twin Creek Trail in 2012). The reason I ran this one is because it was placed perfectly in between the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon and Capital City Half Marathon. Pretty perfect for training purposes. My goal was simply to break 50 minutes.
The race started at 2pm at Community Park (I think that's right) in Fostoria. The 5k option started at the same time as the 10k, which made it difficult pacing-wise. I started out way too fast as we made our way around two of Fostoria's reservoirs. It was a very pretty run and very flat for the first half or so. The 5k runners definitely threw me off and I started out with a 7:19 for the first mile. That's not far off from how I start 5ks, so I knew this would be tough. We continued around the way we came and I was still picking people off as we hit the second mile marker. I was still at 15 minutes and change, despite trying desperately to slow down.
Finally, the 10k and 5k split up around 2.5 miles in the race. We made our way up two bridges that consisted of major inclines. I was finally able to assess the situation as I made my way down for a long straightaway heading outside of town. There were some runners in front of me, but not many. My best bet were two groups of two people each. But they were up there a ways. I hit the third mile marker in 23 minutes and change. Still too fast, but at this point I was prepared for some pain.
The next few miles were very uneventful. Two long straightaways on some country roads. It did start raining lightly, which helped to cool things down some. I passed the first group of two runners at the four mile mark. Despite starting too fast, I still felt pretty good and looked to pick off the next two people. The turnaround was just past the four mile mark and we made our way back to town. I gained on the next two runners and caught up to them at the five mile mark, which I crossed in 38 minutes and change. The second of the two challenged me for the next half mile, but I picked up the pace as we made our way up the bridge. I'm a proponent of going hard on the uphills. If you're passing someone, they'll see that you still have some strength left. After that, it was the final push down the bridge and the last half mile to the finish line. I crossed the finish in 45:35, good enough for a new 10k PR!
I didn't place in this race, but still finished a strong 14/64 overall. Despite starting out too strong, this race taught me that I can a little harder in the early miles of future half marathons.
There were no plans for running a race this weekend, but I decided to sign up for one after the events in Boston on Monday. I'm sure there will be plenty of runners there in support and I plan to use this one as an expensive training run for Capital City. I urge you all to make donations to One Fund Boston and to keep those who were effected in your thoughts.
Next race: Hoover Hustle 10 Miler- Westerville, OH
The race started at 2pm at Community Park (I think that's right) in Fostoria. The 5k option started at the same time as the 10k, which made it difficult pacing-wise. I started out way too fast as we made our way around two of Fostoria's reservoirs. It was a very pretty run and very flat for the first half or so. The 5k runners definitely threw me off and I started out with a 7:19 for the first mile. That's not far off from how I start 5ks, so I knew this would be tough. We continued around the way we came and I was still picking people off as we hit the second mile marker. I was still at 15 minutes and change, despite trying desperately to slow down.
Finally, the 10k and 5k split up around 2.5 miles in the race. We made our way up two bridges that consisted of major inclines. I was finally able to assess the situation as I made my way down for a long straightaway heading outside of town. There were some runners in front of me, but not many. My best bet were two groups of two people each. But they were up there a ways. I hit the third mile marker in 23 minutes and change. Still too fast, but at this point I was prepared for some pain.
The next few miles were very uneventful. Two long straightaways on some country roads. It did start raining lightly, which helped to cool things down some. I passed the first group of two runners at the four mile mark. Despite starting too fast, I still felt pretty good and looked to pick off the next two people. The turnaround was just past the four mile mark and we made our way back to town. I gained on the next two runners and caught up to them at the five mile mark, which I crossed in 38 minutes and change. The second of the two challenged me for the next half mile, but I picked up the pace as we made our way up the bridge. I'm a proponent of going hard on the uphills. If you're passing someone, they'll see that you still have some strength left. After that, it was the final push down the bridge and the last half mile to the finish line. I crossed the finish in 45:35, good enough for a new 10k PR!
I didn't place in this race, but still finished a strong 14/64 overall. Despite starting out too strong, this race taught me that I can a little harder in the early miles of future half marathons.
There were no plans for running a race this weekend, but I decided to sign up for one after the events in Boston on Monday. I'm sure there will be plenty of runners there in support and I plan to use this one as an expensive training run for Capital City. I urge you all to make donations to One Fund Boston and to keep those who were effected in your thoughts.
Next race: Hoover Hustle 10 Miler- Westerville, OH
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon
This race, based on Lexington, Kentucky, is billed as one of America's prettiest half marathons. This is absolutely an accurate description of the race. It stars at Keeneland Thoroughbred Racing Assc. right outside of Lexington and winds through the (very) hilly back roads amid the local horse farms. It is one of the toughest half marathons I've completed but also one of the prettiest.
I made the long trek to Lexington on Friday for packet pick up, which was also located at Keeneland. It was a very cool race expo and, thankfully, I was able to get right in and right out. I stayed pretty close to the race start and had no problem getting in on race day. However, they capped the race at 5000 this year and I think that's as far as they should go. Parking became an issue closer to race time and the race was actually delayed 15 minutes. That was really the only negative for this year's race. The weather was perfect, in the low-40s, so the delayed start wasn't a major deal.
We headed out from Keeneland and I immediately set into a nice nine minute pace. I had heard several people say that the second half of the course was tougher than the first and, judging by the first few tough hills, I wanted to save plenty of gas for the second half. The scenery was fantastic. Nice rolling hills. Horse farms on each side of the road. Some of the gorgeous thoroughbreds came to the fence line to watch us. That was quite the experience. Race-wise I felt pretty good. My 3 mile split was around 26:52, which is right where I wanted to be. I did speed up some by the time I hit the halfway mark, which was in 58:20.
The second half started right in with tough, tough hills! Up, down, up, down for miles 6-9. There were a lot of rollers, but the downhills really started to kill my quads. But I was still doing well and hit the 10 mile mark in 1:26:40. My sub-2:00 streak was going to survive and I decided to just coast and enjoy the scenery. This course certainly doesn't have much crowd support but it isn't needed at all. The race actually leveled out a bit over the last few miles, so I wound up speeding up just a bit and hit the finish line in 1:52:18. As I saw this race as a major challenge, I'm very happy with this time.
Next race: Run the Reservoir- Fostoria, OH
I made the long trek to Lexington on Friday for packet pick up, which was also located at Keeneland. It was a very cool race expo and, thankfully, I was able to get right in and right out. I stayed pretty close to the race start and had no problem getting in on race day. However, they capped the race at 5000 this year and I think that's as far as they should go. Parking became an issue closer to race time and the race was actually delayed 15 minutes. That was really the only negative for this year's race. The weather was perfect, in the low-40s, so the delayed start wasn't a major deal.
We headed out from Keeneland and I immediately set into a nice nine minute pace. I had heard several people say that the second half of the course was tougher than the first and, judging by the first few tough hills, I wanted to save plenty of gas for the second half. The scenery was fantastic. Nice rolling hills. Horse farms on each side of the road. Some of the gorgeous thoroughbreds came to the fence line to watch us. That was quite the experience. Race-wise I felt pretty good. My 3 mile split was around 26:52, which is right where I wanted to be. I did speed up some by the time I hit the halfway mark, which was in 58:20.
The second half started right in with tough, tough hills! Up, down, up, down for miles 6-9. There were a lot of rollers, but the downhills really started to kill my quads. But I was still doing well and hit the 10 mile mark in 1:26:40. My sub-2:00 streak was going to survive and I decided to just coast and enjoy the scenery. This course certainly doesn't have much crowd support but it isn't needed at all. The race actually leveled out a bit over the last few miles, so I wound up speeding up just a bit and hit the finish line in 1:52:18. As I saw this race as a major challenge, I'm very happy with this time.
Next race: Run the Reservoir- Fostoria, OH
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