Three Creeks Half Marathon

 

Let's have a quick chat, winter.  My last half marathon, the Last Chance for Boston, was in 17 degree weather.   I get it.  It was February in Ohio.  Fair enough.  But you got me sick.  Even worse, you got poor GF sick.  So I signed up for the Three Creeks Half Marathon at Three Rivers Metropark in Groveport in late March.  It could still be cold, sure, but I'm thinking 30s or 40s in the morning.  What did we wake up to?  10 degrees with a couple inches of snow here in Mansfield.  Back off, winter.  

GF and I had a quick chat at 5:00 in the morning as I was seriously considering scratching.  I really wasn't sure if I had it in me to run in such temperatures and also worried about getting sick again.  GF encouraged me to go, but it was way too cold for her to cheer me on and there was no place to wait inside at the park.  She saw me off with her usual post-race dance and I made the trek to Columbus.  The snow didn't hit as far south as Groveport so there were no worries on the course.  You'll see in a little bit that all of this was well worth the effort.

The venue itself is really nice.  A bike path runs throughout the park and that's what we ran on.  There were just over 100 people in the half, but there was also a 10k and 5k going on at the same time.  After waiting around in my car (heat, glorious heat!) for 45 minutes, I made my way to the start line.

Miles 1-5: I started out near the front pack and felt good right from the start.  My plan was to use this as a training run for the Ohio River Road Runners Club Half Marathon in two weeks.  The goal time was 1:45.  I set a solid pace right out of the gate as we meandered through the park.  It was VERY difficult to hit all the tangents as there were constant turns during the early miles.  I did a solid job but I know I missed some.  Even though I was aiming for 8:00 miles, I was hitting solid splits from the beginning.  Here are the splits for the first five: 1 (7:52), 2 (7:35),  3 (7:23), 4 (7:26), 5 (7:24).  I really like how this looks as I was very consistent after the easy first mile.  37:40 after the first five is a very solid time and over two minutes faster than where I wanted to be.

Miles 6-10: The course was a bit more varied throughout this section as we had pretty good views of one of the streams and some bridge crossings.  One crossing at about the 6 mile mark was pretty steep, especially on the way back.  I popped a gel at the halfway point and was still feeling pretty good.  No designs on a PR, but I started thinking a sub-1:40 was possible.  I also passed a few people during this section of the course and noticed I was in the top 20 as the leaders were coming back from the turnaround point.  My splits were still solid and pretty consistent.  Here are the numbers: 6 (7:43), 7 (7:17), 8 (7:20), 9 (7:05!), 10 (7:24).  Not sure where that 7:05 came from.  Mile 6 was slower because I kept dropping my gel at the water station.  A 1:14:29 at the ten mile mark is unheard of for me and right in PR territory.  I was thinking it was a slight possibility.

Miles 11-13.1: I was struggling over the last few miles.  My legs were feeling heavy as I was not planning on this race being a PR opportunity.  The meandering course and slight hills were wearing on me, too.  I saw a runner about 100 yards in front of me and kept him in my sights for the remainder.  My splits were surprisingly solid: 11 (7:03), 12 (7:18), 13 (7:14), 13.1 (1:01).  I passed the other runner right at the 13 mile marker and sprinted up the last hill to the finish...

...AND A NEW PR!!!  Talk about unexpected.  I finished this race that I almost didn't run with a new PR of 1:37:09.  This breaks the 1:37:28 from the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona and gives me my third sub-1:40 of the year.  I really don't know how I went from aiming for sub-1:50s last year to consistently running sub-1:40s this year.  I finished this one 16/103 overall and 2/13 in my age group.  This is only the second time I've placed in my age group at a half marathon (the first was the 2013 Park 2 Park) and this race was almost double the size.  Next on the docket for me is my favorite race, the Ohio River Road Runners Club Half Marathon.  My goal may still be to try to PR but we'll see.

GF Training Update

GF is doing an outstanding job of prepping for her 5k at the Flying Pig Marathon in May.  We've been on our local bike path a few times since my last update.  She ran a 46:58 at her second one which would be a PR for her!  It was a pretty nice day out and she was in a zone.  This morning we went out again and she did even better!  It was pretty cold, around 31 degrees, with a fierce wind blowing in our faces during the first half.  She still managed to run a 46:25!  She's doing an amazing job and I'm sure she'll PR in May.

Next race: Ohio River Road Runners Club Half Marathon- Xenia, OH

Liwiro la Malawi 5k

I originally had this on my schedule and decided against it after the Last Chance for Boston Half.  Always supportive GF started talking me into doing it last weekend, so I decided on Thursday to go ahead and give it a shot.  The race is set up to provide assistance to orphans at the Kanyenyeva Orphan Care Ministry in Malawi, Africa, which is an excellent cause I'll support.

GF and I arrived in downtown Mansfield about 45 minutes before the start for registration and warm-ups.  The temps were good but the wind was killer.  We waited around inside for as long as we could before making our way to the start.  I didn't really have a goal in mind because my training has been up and down and geared more toward the half marathon distance.  I was actually pretty nervous for this one because I knew the course would be tough. 

We started out from downtown and ran down Park Avenue for the first mile and a half.  I started out behind a couple people and moved into the top three right away.  Then I moved into second place within the first quarter mile.  Nobody was pushing the pace at all, so I tucked in behind the leader for a bit before passing him within the first half mile.  I was by myself for the rest of this one.  The hill on Park Avenue about a half mile in lasted forever!  It blocked the wind but it was tough to keep up a good pace.  I hit the first mile in 7:22 which is right where I wanted to be.  We finally got a slight downhill before a gradual incline again.  I caught up with the lead bike after we turned off of Park for the lollipop portion of the course.  I was feeling good and knew the worst part was over.  We then turned onto Maple for the last slight uphill and then turned again on Marion moving back toward Park.  I was pushing my pace a bit more and hit the two mile mark in 14:20.  I admit I did look back to see where the second place runner was and felt very comfortable with the lead I built up.  I flew down the long downhill leading us back to Park and the finish stretch.  The final stretch was flat, with the wind to my back this time, and I was able to finish with a solid 22:01 and my fourth first place finish!  Talk about an unexpected result!  GF was again doing a celebratory dance for me at the finish, too!

This was a solid race with the upcoming half marathon next week.  My confidence is pretty high and I'm hoping for a 1:45 or so next week.  GF is training for a 5k at the Flying Pig Marathon in May and we went out for a time trial this morning.  It was very cold and poor GF is just getting over a cold.  She still rocked it!  I'm confident she will be able to get a new PR in May.

Next race: Three Creeks Half Marathon- Groveport, OH