I ran the Ohio Northern University Polar Bear Indoor Half Marathon for the third time a couple weekends ago. If you've read my previous posts you have heard that this is a very fun race. 105 laps on an indoor 200 meter track doesn't sound like fun, but the student athletes who count the laps and cheer you on make this a terrific event.
W and I stayed on campus at The Inn at Ohio Northern again. This is a great facility with a nice restaurant. Ada, OH is only a bit over an hour from us but it's worth spending the extra money to stay overnight. The Sports Center where the event is held is a mere five minutes away. The convenience is worth it.
We got to the race about 15 minutes prior to the start which is fine for a race this small. There is a limited number of spots available and it fills up fast. There's a full marathon and it's almost a 50/50 split between the two races (18 in the half, 16 in the full).
I have purposely lowered my mileage this year as W and I have a lot of things going on. I'm trying to stay in the 15 miles per week range. This winter has been especially cold and snowy so training has been so-so and almost entirely on treadmill. I wasn't expecting a lot when we started and just tried to hit consistent splits. The first couple miles felt very good and I just tried to hold on to the 7:30 range for a while. My "goal" was to break 1:45 at this race and I didn't mind banking some time early on.
Running 105 laps on an indoor track does wear out the legs, but thankfully they have the runners change direction every half hour. And the cross country and track teams do a great job of cheering you on. My lap counter was very helpful and made sure to shout out each mile split. Another nice perk is that you can easily bring your own water, sports drink, gels, etc., and place them on one of the 4-5 tables they have around the track. I always grab my bottle on the run and drop it off at one of the next tables. It's nice to bring your own aid instead of hoping for the best (such as lemon lime Gatorade...yuck!).
Back to the race. I had a few slower miles in the middle of the race but that was by design. They were still faster than my slowest portion of last year's race and I never touched the 8:00 mile. I knew the leader was well ahead of me and I had no idea whether I was in second or third place. I really was able to zone out for the most part and just run. Some people may complain about having to constantly pass other runners on a track but it doesn't bother me. It just makes it feel like I'm going faster!
I was able to speed up over the second half of the race and popped a gel. The second half absolutely flew by and I don't remember most of those miles. The whole race seemed much faster and even more enjoyable than last year. The winner crossed in 1:33 and change which is a great time on an indoor track. I just held on for some extra fast final miles and crossed the finish line in 1:39:24!
Here are my splits:
Mile 1- 7:31
Mile 2- 7:28
Mile 3- 7:33
Mile 4- 7:55
Mile 5- 7:40
Mile 6- 7:38
Mile 7- 7:45
Mile 8- 7:20
Mile 9- 7:22
Mile 10- 7:36
Mile 11- 7:20
Mile 12- 7:33
Mile 13- 7:17
These splits are much more consistent than last year's race. I was able to start strong, run a good middle portion of the race, and finish strong. I took off almost two minutes from last year's time! Sometimes (actually...all the time) the low mileage really works in my favor. I had another third place finish (3/18) and I'm quite happy with that. A sub-1:40, especially in a tough indoor race, is a great start to the year.
I'm not quite sure about my next race. There are a few local 5ks and the Super Bull Trail Championships coming up, but I haven't yet decided which race will be next.
