I had to wait a couple days before posting this race report. The excitement was too much and I was afraid the post would be incoherent if I wrote it right after the race. Although, as regular readers know, this blog is less about solid writing and more about just getting my thoughts down for each race.
The race was held Sunday at beautiful Riverbend Park over in Findlay. This really is a cool park and is much bigger than I thought. My training leading to this race was surprisingly good considering I had just finished the Cap City Half two weeks prior. I've been doing a lot of tough trail running at a local park and nailed a solid seven miler Friday evening before taking Saturday off. In all honesty, I probably went that far because I just bought the New Balance GPS watch and wanted to take it for a spin. I've also been sprinkling in some cross training at the local Y by using the elliptical and stationary bike. I felt good going in and knew something in the 21 minute range would be realistic. Keep in mind that 20:25 is my PR.
We started off with a long straightaway. I came out of the gate faster than I meant to and found myself with the lead pack. We made a turn about a half mile in and ran another long straightaway next to one of Findlay's reservoirs. The first mile marker went by and I looked at my fancy new watch. 6:09? What the heck? I was shooting for a 6:30-6:40. However, the first mile did measure a bit short, so I figure I was at 6:25 or so. Still fast. We turned soon after the mile marker and headed into a more woodsy area. This was definitely more scenic, but I was so focused on the fact that I was running at a PR pace that I didn't pay much attention. I slowed down some but still hit mile 2 in 12:39. Ok. This is definitely a PR attempt. But I was feeling the effort and slowed just a bit in order to prepare for the last half mile. I got into a battle with two other runners and edged one of them out with a half mile to go. The finish line soon came into sight. I looked at my watch, couldn't believe what I saw, and kicked into another gear for a solid finish and a new PR. 19:40! The official results have me at a 19:42, placing 7/95 overall and third in my age group. I never thought I would get a chance to finally break 20 minutes and I was thrilled to do so this early in the year. Add it with the 10k PR I had in Fostoria last month and I've had a very good 2013.
I honestly still can't believe that I broke my 5k PR by so much, but I really need to focus on the rest of my summer training. I'm trying to fit in a few summer half marathons to help me prepare for the Akron Marathon at the end of September. My next race should certainly help.
Next race: Park 2 Park Half Marathon- Sheffield, OH
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
Capital City Half Marathon
This is my second time running the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus. I set a new PR at this race last year and had aspirations of running another solid race. I always run well in Columbus (2010 Spirit of Columbus Half, 2011 Columbus Marathon, last year's Cap City Half), so I usually feel pretty confident going in to the race. The weather certainly worked in my favor this year. I remember sweating up a storm simply walking from my hotel to the start line last year. It was miserable. Thankfully it was in the mid-50s at the start this year, with a slight breeze at times.
The course was very similar to last year's, with a few minor (and positive) changes. The race began after a moment of silence for the Boston Marathon victims and some "Sweet Caroline" thrown in for good measure. I made my way to Corral A, as I had again earned the small thrill to start in the first corral like last year. Hey, I'm not fast. I'll take what victories I can get. It took me roughly 30 seconds to make my way past the start line after the gun and we were off. I came out at a faster pace than recent races. My first mile was in 8:21, followed by 8:15 and 8:13 for the first three miles. I felt good enough that a sub-2:00 was guaranteed and a sub-1:50 was a great possibility. The course itself was similar to last year during these early miles. We made our way up Front Street, then west on Vine, then north on Olentangy River Road. There's not much to look at during these early miles, but this race is more about the middle miles as we began to make our way back to the city.
We went across the Lane Ave. bridge at the four mile mark (I was holding steady in the 8:10 range) and made our way through that part of campus. The crowd support here is awesome! It's not as great as the big Columbus Marathon, but still one of the better race experiences I've had. Just shy of the 5 mile mark, we turned south on High Street. This part of the course is both good and bad. It's very cool to run through downtown Columbus in the middle of High St. The crowd support is also amazing during this section. But...we're on this stretch for three miles! That's a long stretch during a half marathon! We don't turn off until we hit Broad Street, just south of downtown. That's just cruel. My split times were still holding steady and I hit the halfway mark in about 53 minutes.
A tour of Columbus State Community College was next. This was the first change I noticed from last year's course and it was great compared to last year's mileage going further out on Broad. We then headed south for the German Village portion of the course. I really liked this last year, but running on a brick street at mile 11 was just terrible last year. But that was taken out this year, in favor for a portion around Schiller Park. Very nice. I also got a few laughs from spectators during this portion. We ran by Cup o Joe and I yelled out "I'm coming back for you, Cup o Joe!" That got some laughs.
Finally, we made our way back over to High Street for the uphill battle portion of this race. I love race directors who finish their races with an uphill stretch. Race directors have a wonderful sense of humor. I pushed through and finished strong at 1:45:00. I'll never be able to duplicate a 1:45 even. It was a great race and my second fastest half marathon ever. The post race was definitely better than last year, but they are still trying to fit too many people into one place. The festivities were held at Columbus Commons again, which is fine, but the long line from the finish to the celebration is ridiculous. It's about two city blocks and you do not have time, or space, to stretch out. I understand that they need to keep the line moving, but I saw several volunteers trying to move people along who needed a breather. Meh. Not my favorite part of the race, but it is a rather minor complaint compared to everything else this race has going for it.
I'm very pleased with my time at this race. My next half isn't until mid-June, so I signed up for a 5k in a couple weeks. Oh, and I decided to take the plunge and sign up for my third marathon. I'll be running the Akron Marathon on September 28! Gulp...
Next race: 5k Run for the Camps- Findlay, OH
The course was very similar to last year's, with a few minor (and positive) changes. The race began after a moment of silence for the Boston Marathon victims and some "Sweet Caroline" thrown in for good measure. I made my way to Corral A, as I had again earned the small thrill to start in the first corral like last year. Hey, I'm not fast. I'll take what victories I can get. It took me roughly 30 seconds to make my way past the start line after the gun and we were off. I came out at a faster pace than recent races. My first mile was in 8:21, followed by 8:15 and 8:13 for the first three miles. I felt good enough that a sub-2:00 was guaranteed and a sub-1:50 was a great possibility. The course itself was similar to last year during these early miles. We made our way up Front Street, then west on Vine, then north on Olentangy River Road. There's not much to look at during these early miles, but this race is more about the middle miles as we began to make our way back to the city.
We went across the Lane Ave. bridge at the four mile mark (I was holding steady in the 8:10 range) and made our way through that part of campus. The crowd support here is awesome! It's not as great as the big Columbus Marathon, but still one of the better race experiences I've had. Just shy of the 5 mile mark, we turned south on High Street. This part of the course is both good and bad. It's very cool to run through downtown Columbus in the middle of High St. The crowd support is also amazing during this section. But...we're on this stretch for three miles! That's a long stretch during a half marathon! We don't turn off until we hit Broad Street, just south of downtown. That's just cruel. My split times were still holding steady and I hit the halfway mark in about 53 minutes.
A tour of Columbus State Community College was next. This was the first change I noticed from last year's course and it was great compared to last year's mileage going further out on Broad. We then headed south for the German Village portion of the course. I really liked this last year, but running on a brick street at mile 11 was just terrible last year. But that was taken out this year, in favor for a portion around Schiller Park. Very nice. I also got a few laughs from spectators during this portion. We ran by Cup o Joe and I yelled out "I'm coming back for you, Cup o Joe!" That got some laughs.
Finally, we made our way back over to High Street for the uphill battle portion of this race. I love race directors who finish their races with an uphill stretch. Race directors have a wonderful sense of humor. I pushed through and finished strong at 1:45:00. I'll never be able to duplicate a 1:45 even. It was a great race and my second fastest half marathon ever. The post race was definitely better than last year, but they are still trying to fit too many people into one place. The festivities were held at Columbus Commons again, which is fine, but the long line from the finish to the celebration is ridiculous. It's about two city blocks and you do not have time, or space, to stretch out. I understand that they need to keep the line moving, but I saw several volunteers trying to move people along who needed a breather. Meh. Not my favorite part of the race, but it is a rather minor complaint compared to everything else this race has going for it.
I'm very pleased with my time at this race. My next half isn't until mid-June, so I signed up for a 5k in a couple weeks. Oh, and I decided to take the plunge and sign up for my third marathon. I'll be running the Akron Marathon on September 28! Gulp...
Next race: 5k Run for the Camps- Findlay, OH
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