Mid Ohio 13er

I am way behind on this blog and hope to update the last two races.  FW (now W) and I were married a couple weeks ago and we just returned from our honeymoon in Hawaii!  Of course that involved a race, but let's get to this local one that delivered in every category.

The 13er is a half marathon in Mansfield.  That gave us a ten minute drive on race morning which was great.  The weather cooperated as we had a cool front move through the day before the race.  We were both impressed with the start/finish area.  It felt like a much bigger race as the organizers really went above and beyond to give everyone a good experience.  I'll keep my report short since it's been over three weeks since the event.

Miles 1-5: We started in downtown Mansfield and moved west on Park Avenue.  This portion was mostly uphill on a slight grade.  We then moved through the three parks in town: South, Middle, and North Lake.  I felt great early on as this part of the race offered a lot of shade.  Mix that with the cooler temps and it felt like a mid-Fall race.  I kept with the first group of runners and simply tried to maintain that until we made our way to the B&O Bike Path in Mansfield.  It certainly helped that I had run at least the first 7-8 miles of this race either in training or in other races.  The first five went like this: (1) 7:31, (2) 7:06, (3) 7:10, (4) 7:25, (5) 7:18.  Very consistent first five.

Miles 6-10:  More of the bike path.  This section offered some great shade and potential for consistent times.  But the dreaded hill would make it's appearance shortly after we turned off the path at mile 8.  I took it easy on the hill as it felt like it was straight up.  And, of course, it's one of those that levels off for a bit only to continue about 20 meters up the road.  It was rough.  Plus, the sun was now out and we wouldn't have much shade the rest of the way.  After the hill, we started making our way back through town.  Here are the splits for this five: (6) 7:19, (7) 7:15, (8) 7:35, (9) 8:25, (10) 7:35.

Miles 11-13.1:  The final section was through town with some nice downhills mixed in.  I didn't do as well as I was hoping at the end.  I probably could have taken another minute from my time had I not been beat.  We made our way downhill, back to Park Avenue, for the finish.  W was cheering me at the finish but I somehow missed her again!  Here are the final splits: (11) 7:45, (12) 7:35, (13) 7:05.  Not bad, but I would have done much better had the last 2-3 miles been more consistent.

My final time was 1:38:29.  I was pleasantly surprised, as this was almost four minutes faster than my goal.  I finished 7/103 overall and 4/9 in my age group.  

I can't say enough about this race!  The course shows the best of Mansfield and is a nice mix of flat and hilly terrains.  The people who were out cheering were great and the water stops were some of the best I've seen for a while.  The organizers made it feel like a big city race.  I plan on running it again next year.

Next race: Maui 10k- Lahaina, Maui, HI

Blueberry Festival 5k

FW wanted to get a 5k in prior the wedding (now one week away!).  Her training has been spotty as work and wedding planning has obviously taken up a lot of our time and energy.  She had the goal of running this local 5k in 55:00.  With how little she's been able to train, I'm extremely proud of her effort in this one.

This summer has been hot as you can tell by my last post.  The morning of this race wasn't bad, but it got warm during the second half.  FW's plan was to sprinkle in some jogging and go from there.

We started out near the Lexington bike path and made our way through town.  FW started right out by jogging for a bit.  She's really improved her pacing this year, which is allowing her to jog for a longer period.  We meandered through some residential areas and hit the only major hills on the course early on.  FW was jogging much more than I thought she would, so I was keeping her hydrated with the bottle I carry for her races.  She hit the first mile in around 16:00 and was looking good.

The second mile started out with a LOOONG straightaway that seemed never-ending.  It was a beast.  Plus, the sun was coming out and there was no shade.  FW was feeling it here.  She was still able to jog the nice downhill that was awaiting us at the end.  Again, she really jogged more than I was expecting in this one.  She was also keeping up with the pace and a 50:00 race for her seemed in the cards.

The final mile was much tougher on her and she slowed down some.  She still jogged a few portions but the heat was really getting to both of us.  I was still keeping her hydrated and trying my best to keep her positive.  But we were both done.  We made our way back through the festival grounds for a small portion on the bike path to the finish.  FW finished ahead of me with a time of 50:04.  This is faster than both her Flying Pig and Kingwood Center 5k efforts.  Not bad on little training.

I've finally caught up with my posts, so it's time to race again tomorrow!

Next race: Mid Ohio 13er Half Marathon- Mansfield, OH

Run to the Wall Half Marathon

I'm way behind on the blog and I have a half marathon tomorrow.  Let's get to it!

I was itching to race.  It had been a month and a half since I ran the BW5K and had a solid effort.  I was also wanting to get in another half to make sure I hit 60 this year.  Well, I got my wish at the Run to the Wall Half Marathon in Clinton, Ohio, which is close to Akron.  But I plan on hitting on the snags presented at this race.

First, I do want to say this race has a terrific cause.  From the website, "All proceeds from the Run to the Wall are used to continue to build and maintain the Ohio Veterans' Memorial Park, which is run and maintained by an ALL volunteer staff."  The OVMP is a very cool park with memorials and statues dedicated to Ohioans who fought in wars from Vietnam on.  It's a small park but very well maintained.  FW and I particularly enjoyed the Cobra AH-F1 display and POW/MIA reflection pond.  It's a nice find in small town Ohio.  I highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area.

The race organization on the other hand left a bit to be desired.  This summer has been HOT.  We've been lucky the past few years but this one has been a scorcher.  So imagine everyone's surprise when we hear there will only be three water stops!  Seriously!  What FW and I heard was there would be stops at miles 3, 6, and 11.  Umm...seriously?  No water for five miles on a hilly course in August?  Now they did say they would give us 8oz bottles at the stops, so I'm thinking I can at least carry that for a mile or so.  More on that soon.

Here we go.  My goal for the race was to stay in the 1:45 range.

Miles 1-5:  We started from the park and hit the village of Clinton.  The hills started in right away and stayed throughout the race.  I headed out with the top six runners but knew I couldn't keep that up.  I did not have my GPS watch on me so there are no splits.  That's probably a good thing.  It took a very short time to hit the first snag.  At around 1.5 miles I saw a small water stop right as I passed it (on the opposite side of the road of course).  Nobody was yelling anything and they didn't even look like they were set up yet.  I asked FW about this later and she also heard the announcer say there was a water stop at the 5k mark.  Well, apparently he meant the 5k turnaround mark.  So now I'm down to two water stops for a half marathon instead of three.  And it was getting pretty hot despite the 7:00 start.

Miles 6-10:  I was already starting to give up.  The hills were relentless and water was nonexistent.  I took the little bit at mile 6 but that didn't last long.  Remember the 8oz water bottles?  Well, they didn't leave the caps on so the water just sloshed around.  Rather than losing it all, I decided to just drink it up and hope for the best.  The course was tough but scenic in parts.  We were still going around on country roads and seeing very few people.  I thought I was slowing down quite a bit, but the downhill portions were still helping my time.  I was mostly just thinking of getting to the finish.

Miles 11-13.1: Water!  We hit the final water stop at mile 11 and it was just as wonderful as I imagined.  It at least perked me up a bit and I felt like the last few miles went well.  I was drained, but I was able to pick up the pace as we made our way back into Clinton and the park.  FW was waiting on me during the lap around the park and gave me a high-five!  I probably looked like death as I came in to the finish.  My time was a ho-hum 1:46:44, my worst of the past few years, though I did finish 13/82 overall and won my age group.

Then came the awards.  I've never seen anything like it.  The website said they would not mail awards, so we decided to stay longer since I won my division.  The 5k awards were first...and took over an hour!  Seriously.  There was a raffle mixed in there which didn't help.  Then the 10k awards started.  After another 20 minutes or so, I told FW let's just get going as I needed to eat and rest.

Again, this race was for a wonderful cause that I fully support.  But I do not plan on going back unless they get some better organization.

Next race: Blueberry Festival 5k- Lexington, OH