Park 2 Park Half Marathon

We have had some amazingly mild weather for an Ohio summer.  I went out for a 15 miler right after work last Friday and did not overheat.  Pretty amazing for June and it's making it much easier to train for the Akron Marathon.  My thinking is that I'll run a half marathon each month during the build up (with a ten miler added in during August), so I added this small race in Sheffield, OH, just west of Cleveland.  It's a small race, with just over 100 runners, held at French Creek Reservation.  The course runs to another park, which I can't remember the name of, and back.  I was pretty psyched to get in a June half marathon.

But this is what awaited us on race morning.

Cats and dogs.  Downpour.  Delightful.  Thankfully, it stopped by the time we made it to the start line, but I would have rather had a light rain because the humidity rose like crazy late in the race.

We started off at 7:00 by making a small loop around the parking area (?) and then headed out via a crushed limestone trail.  The temps were perfect early on and I started out way too fast with a 7:25, 8:20, and 8:15 for the first three miles.  Now, I think the first mile was short, but this was still too fast for me.  The trails were surprisingly difficult in places with some hills.  The course was also pretty scenic with some nice bridges over streams and such.  I got into a battle with a few other runners that lasted a good 3-4 miles.  I finally passed them right after the turnaround point and started building a nice lead on them (they looked like they were in my age group).  It was an enjoyable first half and I clocked in at 57 minutes for the first seven miles.  Not bad at all!

Then the wheels came off.  The humidity was rising exponentially and I was feeling the effects of those fast early miles.  I took a gel and water at mile 8 and stretched out some.  I stole some glances behind me during the long straightaways and did not see anyone coming.  And there was nobody in front of me.  I decided I was probably safe to take the rest of the race easy and had a pretty good idea that I was currently third in my age group.  I sprinkled in some hard running with a few walk breaks for the rest of the race.  Splits were kind of hit-or-miss, but I was at 1:19 at the ten mile mark.  Still a very good time.

I just enjoyed the gorgeous sites during the last 3.1 miles and finally made my way back to the parking area for a finishing lap there.  It's pretty obvious that the last mile was short because I clocked in at just over six minutes for that mile.  No.  Way.  Crossed the finish line in 1:44:54 which is a very good time for me, though I'm guessing 1:47-1:48 is a more accurate time.

The biggest thing is that I was indeed third in my age group!  This is the first time I've placed in a half marathon.  You can tell that I was excited about my two medal day.

Goofball.

The postrace spread was pretty good for such a small race.  Plenty of fruit and water.  It was certainly refreshing.  I also got the chance to meet fellow blogger Jess, from the Run Jess Run blog!  Check out her journey to run 13 half marathons in 2013.  What a great goal.  We chatted about this race and our future races for the year.  Best of luck, Jess!

Then it was off to a terrific restaurant, the Harry Buffalo, for an amazing lunch.

Yes, that sandwich is buffalo chicken topped with mac and cheese.  It should be illegal but, thankfully, it is not.

My focus has shifted to the full marathon in September and I'm off to a great start.  A 15 miler followed by a good half marathon effort the next week gives me a lot of confidence.  It looks like I'll take another break from racing until mid-July.

Next race: Flirt with Dirt 5k- Findlay, OH