I had a free Saturday and decided to see what races were out there. There was nothing shorter than an hour away, so I chose this one in Findlay since I've ran numerous races in that city. Plus a five miler is something totally different for me. I had to look back at this blog to find the results for the 2012 Frostbite Five Miler, the only other one I've ran. My time for that was 38:45 so I was very sure I would get a five miler PR at this one.
The race began and ended at the Findlay High School track which was a nice facility. The weather, however, was way too cool for late April. The temperature was in the low 40s with a strong wind. I figured it would be breezy in pancake flat Findlay but it was more than expected. It looked like we would have a nice tailwind going south but then vice versa on the way back on this out and back course. The race wasn't the biggest, and there was a 5k attached, so I lined up in the fourth line or so for the start.
I felt great from the start and jumped into the top eight or so. We headed south toward the Cooper Tire plant on a pretty straightforward course. The wind wasn't terrible during the first half. The first mile clicked by in a fast 6:33. I passed a couple runners during the second mile, but it was tough to gauge where I was until the 5k runners turned around. I saw three of them turn around and I knew I was in the top five. The only hill was in this section but it wasn't much. The second mile was a still fast 6:47 and I still felt great.
We turned east for a short jaunt by the tire plant before turning back around and heading back. There's not much to report on as it's the same course in reverse. I could tell I was actually in the top three at this point and knew I could hold it. The third mile was a 6:55 and the fourth was a surprising 6:52. I really felt that I slowed down slightly here due to the wind but I was wrong. I finally started feeling the race as we started the fifth mile and headed back for a finish on the Findlay track. I finished strong but didn't have anyone behind or in front of me to push me. The final mile came in 6:55 and I finished with an overall time of 34:02. That is a minute faster than I thought I could run on my best day! I did indeed finish third overall and second in my age group.
This was a nice change of pace race that I really enjoyed. The organization was great and there's not a thing I would change. Next up is one of my favorite half marathons.
Next race: Flying Pig Half Marathon- Cincinnati, OH
No comments:
Post a Comment