Private Heath Warner Memorial Four Miler

GF and I made the trek to Massillon for this four miler.  I had to skip last week's 5k due to illness and found this race online.  I'm glad I did because this was very well organized and I had more fun than expected.  The temperature was in the low 40s at the start which certainly helped.

We started out from the Massillon YMCA and I went out at a strong pace.  I actually went out at a 5k PR type pace.  There weren't many hills on the course, surprising for Massillon, and I took full advantage of the low temps.  The leaders took off at a ridiculous pace.  I was with the second wave and hit the first mile in 6:17.  That's a fast mile for me!  I battled with another runner over the next two miles which kept me focused.  The course wound around a nice park during the last two and a half miles or so.  A two miler was going on at the same time and they veered off around this point.  I kept going back and forth with the other runner and there wasn't many people near us.  The second and third miles came in at 6:31 and 6:45.  I would have ran my second fastest 5k had this race not been a four miler.  Pretty crazy considering I have not spent any time training for these shorter distances this year.

The final mile included a couple minor hills as we doubled back to the 2 mile/4 mile split.  The 4 milers stayed straight this time and wound toward the finish.  My battle with the other runner ended halfway through mile 4, but another runner overtook both of us at the same time.  I still knew I had a solid race in the bag and focused on finishing strong.  I finished in an amazing 25:51, so that last mile came in at just over 6 minutes.  My effort was good enough for 10/235 overall and first in my age group, making it a two medal day.  I was very impressed with the organization of this race and plan on doing it again next year.  GF and I even got in a two miler to help her with her training!

GF Training Update

GF is getting back into the swing of things after her amazing Flying Pig effort.  She had solid 1 1/2, 2, and 3 mile runs this week.  Most of her runs have been around 2 miles and we're trying to get back to the same strength she was at for the Flying Pig.  She's set to run the Kingwood 5k here in Mansfield in mid-June.  I'm really hoping she can set her second PR of the year!

Next race: Medina Half Marathon- Medina, OH