Scioto Miles 10 Miler

This weekend was a fun little race in Columbus, the Scioto Miles 10 Miler.  I put this one on my list because I wanted one last chance to actually race prior to the Akron Marathon.  My half at the end of August will simply be for maintenance.  The goal for this one was to simply beat my time at the Hoover Hustle 10 Miler back in April and, possibly, break 1:20.

This one had an early start of 7:00, which I love.  But they had to bus us to the start because of the course being a point-to-point, so I had to be at Genoa Park/COSI in downtown Columbus by around 5:45.  Not as much love for that.  This was only my second point-to-point course involving busing the runners.  The other time was the 2010 Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon, which was ran on just about the identical course.  True story.

Anyway, we were bused to Griggs Reservoir on Riverside Drive and I burned time by walking around and stretching out.  It was actually pretty cool out for an early August race.  We started out by heading north for about a mile and a half through the park.  Not much to report, other than the pavement was VERY uneven to the point where it got annoying.  I clocked a slow 9:15 for the first mile and quickly picked it up and got to the second mile, as we started to head south on Riverside, in 17:53.  I don't have too many splits after that, but I definitely ran negative splits throughout the race.  The first half had a slight incline.  Not much to talk about scenery-wise.  Just road, trees, businesses, and houses.  Nothing much.

One of my few splits I did notice was at the seven mile mark as I was at about 57 minutes and change, so I was definitely ahead of my pace for half marathons.  A sub-1:20 didn't look to be in the books as the course was slightly long.  My watch measured it at 10.18 miles.  Not too bad, but enough to keep me from a sub-1:20.  Still, I was making good time as we were heading towards a mostly downhill finish. 

After going over I-670, we headed onto a bike path for the finish.  I went strong during the last two miles and passed about ten people during this stretch.  We were right next to the Scioto River during the final stretch to Genoa Park/COSI and I crossed the finish line in a strong 1:20:52.  Not a sub-1:20, but I'm very happy with this time.  I never felt bad during this run, despite going hard the entire time.  And check out the medal!

I have about four weeks off from racing before my next half.  Like I mentioned before, that one will be a simple maintenance run during my final preparations for Akron.  I'm hoping to get in an 18 miler this weekend, then a 20 miler.  It's getting too real.

Next race: Soaring Eagles Boy Scout Half Marathon- Bowling Green, OH