Sweetcorn Festival 5k

This small race was held in Mt. Gilead which is about a half hour from home.  It featured a 10k with prize money, but I knew I wasn't fast enough to compete with the folks running that one.  I simply wanted a good, hard 5k. 

I got to the race in plenty of time and saw off and on rain in the forecast.  It was a bit cooler so I figured this might be a better race than the last few.  We headed out to the meager start line and I made my way to the third line of people.  There were certainly some fast looking runners and I assumed most were after the prize money, which was more than you would think for a small town race.  My GPS watch has been giving me fits and I kept it on the watch function to at least get a sense of my pace.  The cloudy day wasn't helping it any. 

We headed north before making a turn west about a quarter mile into the race.  A lot of people took off at a fast clip and I just tried to maintain what felt good.  I figured I started in about tenth place overall, but that's with the 10k runners so I figured I was in the top five for the 5k.  We went up some residential streets and into the country for a bit before heading back north for the loop.  My first mile clocked in around 6:15-6:20 which was faster than I wanted.  But I felt good and tried to maintain that pace.

We continued through residential areas before heading east past the high school.  There were two younger runners in front of me and I worked on closing the 50 meter gap between us.  My pace was solid and I'm guessing I was around 6:30 or so for the last mile.  I was also pretty sure the course was going to be slightly short.  Still, I felt really good and was enjoying myself for a change.  We made it past the school and started south toward another residential area and the finish.  I finally caught the two runners in front of me and made it past them with a half mile or so left.  I then turned expecting to see the finish further away and was shocked to see it so close.  I guessed the course measured 3 miles even rather than 3.1.  I was able to finish strong and hit the finish line in a surprising time of 20:08.

I did go to MapMyRun later to chart the course and it came up to 3.1 miles.  For some reason it felt short so I take that as a good sign.  I can count it as my fastest 5k for the year and it came on very little training.  I did finish 3/34 overall and first in my age group.  The only complaint I have is the handling of the awards.  Many of us were hanging around after the race.  I finally heard, after almost an hour, that awards were going to be mailed out.  That's all well and good (and preferred) but better notice would have been appreciated.

My next race will be my 70th half marathon, unless I decide to do a 5k next weekend.

Next race: Heart and Sole Half Marathon- Wooster, OH

Ontario Liberty 5k

This is the second race this year that started and finished at Ontario High School which is about half a mile from home.  I love easy logistics.  The course is the same one from the Childhood Cancer 5k back in May.  It was just as tough as that one as the high for the day was just over 90 and the humidity was awful.

My only goal for this one was to place in my age group.  There are a ton of high school kids at this race with most of the Ontario High runners in attendance.  It's one of the more popular races in Richland County and gets around 150 people each year.  I ran it in 2015, posting a sub-20:00, and last year with W. 

I don't have splits for this as my New Balance GPS watch is really acting up.  It was a clear day and I couldn't get a signal.  Time to replace it.

I lined up for the start in the third row, allowing the kids to have space, and planned to stay in that neck of the woods for the remainder.  We started out going north by the high school and I felt ok.  The weather was going to be a factor, but I started out slow enough to know conk out late in the race.  We hit Milligan Road for the long downhill portion of the race.  I passed a couple younger runners right before the first mile marker.  I believe I stayed in that position for the rest of the race.  This downhill portion also allowed some shade if you ran on the left side of the road.  It made a huge difference!  We then headed for the lollipop loop around the east end of Marshall Park which is a dull stretch.  I did look at my watch for a rough update and saw I was around 14 minutes at the two mile mark.  That's right where I wanted to be as I was shooting for something around 21 minutes at this race. 

Then the hills hit.  I train a lot on this course since it's close to home.  It never ceases to amaze me how this hill seems to take FOREVER.  Ever time it seems to flatten out, another incline starts.  It's not steep, it's long.  I simply maintained my position until we finally made it out and back to the high school.  I was able to kick it in for a nice finish with an overall time of 21:10.  This effort was good enough for 9th overall and second in my age group, which included a nice trophy!

I'm still sticking to my plan of racing less.  One a month, on average, is realistic right now.

Next race: Sweetcorn Festival 5k- Mt. Gilead, OH