This is the fourth time I've done half marathons on back-to-back weeks. I wasn't planning on doing so, but FW convinced me to do the Medina Half on Memorial Day weekend. This race is part of the Mainly Marathons race series which is becoming increasingly popular. If you aren't familiar with it, you have the opportunity to follow a great group of people through a different state each day for a week or so. It's extremely popular for 50 Staters, Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics. The Ohio race was in Bryan, Ohio, about two and a half hours from Mansfield. I didn't do the next day's race in Michigan because it was another 100 miles or so from Bryan. What's nice is the Mainly Marathons group has offered up one free race to anyone who hasn't previously done one of their races. What great marketing! The hotel options aren't numerous but they are inexpensive. It turned into a nice, low-key race weekend.
FW and I showed up the night before and stopped in at Stoney Ridge Winery about three miles north of our hotel. This was one of the nicest wineries we've visited! We really wanted to tour the grounds, but it was raining cats and dogs. We had some samples and bought a couple bottles to bring home. Highly recommended! We then had a nice dinner and turned in for the night as the race started at 6:00am.
The race start is at nearby Moore Park which had plenty of parking. I don't think I've seen so many Maniacs and Fanatics at such a small race before. The course was an out and back that we ran multiple times. There was a marathon, half marathon, and 5k going on which made it a bit difficult at times. Now, this is different from other races because very, very few people were actually racing. Most folks were doing multiple days and were going at slower paces. I was setting up for a solid half marathon to finish out the first part of the year.
As this is a loop course, I don't plan on doing my usual breakdown (Miles 1-5, 6-10, 11-13.1). Instead I'll simply give my thoughts on the race and the splits I have. My GPS watch conked out at about the 11.5 mile mark and didn't save the data.
We started out from the meager start line and I felt good right away. It was warm out, but it felt much better than Medina the previous week. The eventual marathon winner took off like it was a 5k, so I settled in well behind him and tried to hold my ground. The course wasn't bad for 8 laps as we ran through Moore Park. It offered plenty of shade but it stayed a pretty overcast day for the most part.
My race took an odd turn at the end of the first lap. We had torrential rains the night before, so the first 200 meters or so were a bit rough through the gravel parking lot. The rest was on asphalt. I was making the turn from the asphalt trail to the parking lot at the end of the first lap when I spotted FW. I gave her a quick wave, took two more steps, and slipped on the one muddy spot. Well, not slipped, more like went flying and landed on both hands and my right leg. FW was of course scared that I really hurt myself, but I quickly yelled "I'm fine" and ran toward the water station where I assessed my wounds. Thankfully, I only had some scratches on my hands and right leg. It could have seriously broken my arm with the way I landed. I poured some water on my hands and kept going.
FW saw me a bunch more times and asked if I was ok. I told her I was indeed fine and just had some minor scratches and a bruised ego. That's the first time I've fallen in a race and I hope it's the last. The second and third laps were a bit slower as I kept looking at my bleeding hands, but I eventually settled into a solid pace.
As for the people, they're awesome. I don't know how many times I yelled "Good job Maniac/Fanatic" only to hear "Good job Fanatic", as I was wearing my Half Fanatics singlet. Everyone was having a good time and, with it being a loop course, you got to know everyone along the way.
I was able to finish the half in 1:40:18 which was good enough for 1/30 overall. I'll take it but, again, this isn't a typical race.
Tomorrow morning is the next race which is one of FW's favorites.
Next race: Kingwood 5k- Mansfield, OH
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