Heartland 5k

I'm a bit behind (I know, shocker) and need to catch up prior to this week's 5k.  The Heartland 5k took place in nearby Lexington and utilized the bike path and some village streets.  I felt really good going into this one and was looking for around 20:00 or the usually elusive sub-20:00.

The temperature was very good at race time at about 50 degrees.  It got much warmer as the day went on, but it stayed very nice during the race.  I took a pre-race jog around Heartland Church, the race venue, which is something I normally don't do prior to a 5k.  The thought process is that I normally don't do an actual warm-up and then wind up going out too fast.  This strategy worked as you'll soon see.

I lined up near the front of the meager start line.  Two high school age runners were up there, so I lined up with them and hoped for the best.  The gun went off and we headed around the church on a grassy path and then to the bike path soon after.  I felt very good and kept up with the other two runners, settling into third place.  We headed out on a long straightaway on the bike path and I just put it on auto-pilot.  There was plenty of shade and I was able to keep nice and cool during the early part of the race.  We turned off the path and headed toward a residential area at the one mile mark.  The first mile clocked in at a fast 6:08.

This was an extremely fast mile.  I let off the gas a bit as we made our way through the town on several small village streets.  The only hill of any significance was roughly at the halfway mark but it wasn't very steep.  The other two runners were ahead of me a bit and the next one behind me was maybe 50 meters or so behind.  We made a loop around and headed back toward the path.  The second mile clocked in at another fast 6:32.  I usually crap out on the second mile but a 12:40 after two miles is very fast for me.  We made our way back to the bike path for the final mile.  I knew I didn't have much left, but I wanted to give it a go for a sub-20:00 race.  I focused on maintaining rather than changing my speed at all.  The second place runner was barely ahead of me.  I didn't think I had a chance to catch him and kept working at maintaining pace.  The third mile came in at 6:27.  We finally wound up back at the church and headed back to the grassy path for the finish.  I crossed in third place with a surprising PR of 19:39!

How this happened is beyond me.  I am focusing on shorter races more this year, however, I haven't really been doing speedwork.  The mileage is still there but the speed is not.  I'm obviously thrilled with the result as I had not PR'd in the 5k since 2013.

I'm hoping to keep up this nice streak of solid 5k races.  I have finished the last three 5k races in fourth, second, and third places.  The next one is coming up in just a few days, though the course looks more challenging.

Next race: 1LT Michael L Runyan 5k- Ashland, OH

Capital City Half Marathon

W and I made our way to Columbus for one of my favorite races.  We have gone to the Flying Pig in Cincinnati the past few years, but my work schedule didn't fit it this year.  I know the Cap City course as well as I know the ORRRC Half Marathon as I ran it in 2012, 13, and 14.  I was looking forward to a solid race and a nice time in Columbus.

The weather did not cooperate from the get-go.  We first had to make our way to the "expotique" in the Brewery District.  This was my first clue that something was "off" for this year's race.  It was cool, rainy and miserable for the drive down.  Add to the fact that the upscale "expotique" was in a difficult place to get to didn't help at all.  Then it rained while we were walking from our hotel to dinner.  Not a great start.

Race morning was overcast with temps in the high 50s.  That's not too bad.  But radar showed severe storms in Indiana that looked to be heading straight toward Columbus.  We would just have to wait and see.  W and I made our way to the race start on Front Street and I climbed (almost literally) into Corral A for the start.

We started by going north on Front Street, crossing the river, and then heading north on Olentangy River Road.  I felt great right out of the gate and quickly settled into a good pace.  The sky was still overcast and I was hoping we could get the race in.  This part of the race isn't the most scenic until you get to about mile 4.  We then cross over the Lane Avenue Bridge and hit a bit of OSU campus.  Here are the splits for the first five: 7:07, 7:03, 7:10, 7:05, and 7:22.

This is a quicker part of the course as it's a net downhill down High Street.  There weren't nearly as many spectators as in previous years, as the clouds were beginning to roll in.  I kept a solid pace but didn't overdue it.  I flew down this section in 2014 and paid for it during the last few miles.  One complaint I do have is that the quarter marathon participants merge with the half right before we turn to head east.  This becomes a cluster and it's difficult to hit the tangents.  I did the best I could and was still happy with my pace.  We then turn south and head into German Village.  The splits for the second five: 7:15, 7:18, 7:10, 7:20, and 7:41.

I love the section in German Village as we go right through the middle of town and then around Schiller Park.  If you're not familiar with the part, it's gorgeous.  It was around this point, however, when I heard some rumbling just south of town.  At that point I was concerned that the storm was coming in.  I kicked it in a bit as we headed back north on High Street, then west toward COSI.  The clouds were starting to darken.  We went around COSI and then back to High Street for the finish.  Here are the splits for the last few: 6:56, 7:15, and 7:10.  I finished at 1:36:25, good enough for my second fastest half marathon!  It's bittersweet, though, as I had the course measured at 13.3.  That might have been enough for a PR but it would have been close.  Still, this was my second straight solid half marathon.

The real story of the race began right after I finished.  The runners have to walk around several buildings prior to heading into the post-race area in Columbus Commons.  During my walk the sky opened up and it started raining hard.  Worse still, there was lightning.  Pandemonium.  I ran to the reunion area and W (nor anyone else) was not there.  I ran around as the race organizers first announced they were cutting the course short.  They then called the race about ten minutes later.  I looked for W at our hotel (right next to the Commons) and then came back to the post-race area.  There were still some people trying to finish and others looking to get post-race pizza and beer, but the organizers were telling people to leave.  W and I finally found each other and she told me what happened.

An officer told everyone in the reunion area to seek cover in a parking garage across the street.  W told him that I just finished and would be there in less than a minute.  He still made her go across the street even though there were people milling about everywhere.  You can read more of the stories of people getting caught out on the course, or their gear check bags being sent ACROSS town at the Cap City Facebook page.  I think they took a huge PR hit with how they handled the situation.  I love the course but I'm now not sure I'm coming back.  Regardless, I'm happy getting my second fastest half marathon!

I'm extremely late in posting this and have already ran my next one.  It's a good one.

Next race: Heartland 5k- Lexington, OH