Presque Isle Half Marathon

State number ten is in the books.  Last weekend was the Presque Isle Half Marathon in Erie, Pennsylvania.  I really wanted a mid-July half marathon but there was nothing to choose from in Ohio.  With Erie being just under three hours, it was a pretty easy decision.

I can't say enough about this nice, low-key race.  It's held at beautiful Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie.  The organization was top-notch for such an easy-going and inexpensive half marathon.  The best part?  Cooling off with a quick swim after the race.  Seriously, I was not nearly as sore the next day as I usually am after a half.

The day started early as I arrived at 5:45 for the 6:45 start.  Ridiculously early.  But I loved the early start, especially since it got very warm and humid later in the day.  The parking was a breeze thanks to the race organizers, who did a wonderful job considering there were around 400 more runners than last year.  That's a big increase for a race this size.  The limitations to parking out on Presque Isle certainly made it more challenging.  Kudos to the Erie Running Club.

We started off right on time with our first of two long straightaways.  Presque Isle is a long peninsula, so we ran up one side, made a half loop around the tip, and came back the other way.  It's basically an out and back as the scenery does not change much.  There are very few views of the water as trees line both sides of the road during most of the race (yay shade!).  The first few miles clicked off pretty quickly.  I started off at my conservative pace, hitting 8:57, 8:45, 8:47 for the first three miles.  The race really stayed at that pace for me throughout, which was exactly what I was looking for.  Just a nice, easy race with a quick finish, if possible.

There's obviously not much to report on the scenery.  Road, trees, occasional water.  That's pretty much it.  The course was never congested, but I was also never alone for any long stretches.  It was pretty much a simple race by runners for runners.  We came near the turnaround point and I hit the seven mile mark in 1:03 and change.  Again, right where I needed to be.  The sun started to come out, but the tree-lined road kept things comfortable.  The second half went by very quickly and I was able to kick it in during the last three miles to come in at 1:49:55.  I wasn't expecting a sub-1:50 so I'm very pleased with this time.

Training for the Akron Marathon is going well and I'm actually ahead of my goal.  We've got almost two months exactly until the big day.  Only two more (training) races left to go until Sep. 28.

Next race: Scioto Miles 10 Miler- Columbus, OH

Flirt with Dirt 5k

If you can't tell by the race name, this past weekend's event was set to be a trail run.  Unfortunately, monsoon season hit NW Ohio last week and most of the race course at Riverbend Park in Findlay was flooded.  I'm not talking a small amount of water.  It looked to be knee to waist deep in some spots.  But the race organizers did a wonderful job in marking out a new course on paved trails throughout the park.  They did this on Thursday and Friday for a Saturday race AND sent runners an email explaining the situation.  Kudos!

I was prepared for a trail run, as I haven't done one since living in Dayton, and was a bit disappointed.  But, to be honest, I hadn't really planned on racing so much as just getting a good hard run in the books.  With a half marathon next weekend, it certainly wasn't the time to race.

We started out on a paved trail and I took off at a conservative pace.  I was pretty surprised that the lead pack also took off slowly.  Last year's times from this race were extremely fast, especially for a trail run.  The temperature was good, but the humidity became a problem later.  The first mile went by fast as the last half of the first mile was on an equestrian trail.  I clocked in at 7:02.  Pretty well right where I wanted to be.  But the second mile felt horrible.  We made our way back to a paved trail for a short loop around the starting area.  I really started feeling the humidity and slowed down some.  Oddly enough, there wasn't really anyone around me.  I knew I was behind the lead pack and the second pack was somewhere behind me.  I guess I was stuck in no man's land.  The second mile clocked in at 14:22, so I knew I had definitely slowed down.  Mile 3 was not much better, though a battle with another runner helped me along.  We came back by running the same portion from the first mile and the equestrian trail felt excellent after paved trails.  True trail running, for whatever reason, gives me a little extra boost.  I battled back and forth with another runner and finally left him with a quarter mile to go, surged ahead, and clocked in at 21:52 (though my watch showed 21:45).  Not a bad time considering the humidity was getting to me.  It was good enough for 15/265 overall and third in my age group. 

This is the last (of only two!) 5ks for this year that I have scheduled.  Maybe I'll get another later in the fall, but this shows how much I prefer the longer distances nowadays.  There's not much time to rest from this one, however, as I knock off state number ten next week!

Next race: Presque Isle Half Marathon- Erie, PA