Sugarcreek 5 Miler

I wanted to do one last race sponsored by the Ohio River Road Runners Club (read: well organized and free for members) and this one couldn't have been better! It was held in the ever-popular Sugarcreek Metro Park near Bellbrook. The technical trails made for a very interesting trail race. Thankfully, the footing was a lot better than during the torrential rains we had at the Twin Creek 10k. But it was still a race full of uphills, downhills, tree roots, and rocks.

I went straight to the park after work and was very glad I did. The parking lot was almost full a good hour before the race start. The race organizers told us that there were two other group activities going on at the same time, which didn't surprise me considering the popularity of Sugarcreek. I had plenty of time to drink some water and stretch out. The stretching out was especially important due to my lack of sufficient training. I was really just looking for a nice workout for my last race in the Dayton area.

I don't have any split times as it's difficult to mark miles at a trail race. We started out with some technical trail right off the bat. A winding downhill greeted us at the start, followed by some winding paths. The hills weren't terrible but you could tell they were there. I started off at a conservative pace and simply ramped it up a bit on the downhills. Overall, I felt great! A tough section came around at roughly two miles in when we ran a winding downhill, crossed a stream by jumping on rocks, and then making our way uphill. The uphill was awkard because it was steep and narrow. Some runners tried running to the side, while others attempted to climb up using some huge rocks. This is the kind of stuff that makes trail running fun. You can't simply zone out and go. You have to look down and constanly watch where you are going. The halfway point was well marked, so we could get a sense of where we were on the course. I still felt pretty good but had an issue arise just past the half way mark. A rock had found its way into one of the grooves on the bottom of my shoe and was hitting the ball of my foot. It hurt quite a bit so I considered stopping. For about a second. My time was still good and I could still run on it so I tried to forget about it. Note to those reading this blog- Don't do that! Just stop and take the rock out. My foot was hurting for a few days after the race.  The second half was easier than the first half and I finished strong with a 41.27.  Surprisingly, that was good enough for third in my age group, so I'm 3/3 placing in trail races.  I will greatly miss these ORRRC races, but I'm excited to run new races in the NW Ohio area.

Next race- Either Team Jenny 5k or Run with the Little Giants 5k, both in Fremont.

Casey Terrell Memorial 5k

I'm late on my race reports due to a job change coupled with a move. I just moved out of the Dayton area, but had two races (naturally) before I left. This first one was a couple of weeks ago in Xenia. I've had great luck running races in Xenia by placing in the two 5ks I've ran there and getting a PR at the half marathon. But my training has taken a hit due to this move. My realistic goal was to just run a good, hard race.

This course was interesting. We started out by crossing the parking lot at the FOP Lodge to get to a steep and long downhill toward the bike path. I wanted to start out at a conservative pace and run negative splits but this start did not allow for that. I flew down the hill and immediated knew that I was running way too fast. This was a small 5k with no mile markers, so I'm not sure what kind of splits I ran, but the first mile was way too quick. Next, we made our way to the bike path (the same one we run during the ORRRC Half) for a nice, flat straightaway. I had no problem with this portion of the race until we got past the halfway point. I knew I was in the top five, but I wasn't sure if I could hold this kind of pace. I had stopped passing people and the next person was a good 50 meters away. Instead, I focused on not getting passed during the second half of the race. We continued along the bike path, until roughly the 2.3 mile mark, until we made our way to that hill again. Except this time we had to make a long trek up this thing. I struggled uphill and just managed to keep my position. A quick left turn back into the parking lot and I had a solid 21:29 and a fourth place finish! Not too bad for managing very little training over the past few weeks.

I did stick around for the awards and I did wind up winning my age group. This was a very well organized race which I would run again if I wasn't out of the area. The goodie bags actually had useful stuff in them and the snacks after the race were fantastic. Next up is my last race in the Dayton area.

Geist Half Marathon

The Geist Half Marathon has been on my list for a few years and I finally made the trek over to Indianapolis for this one.  I came into this race with very modest goals.  The Cap City Half was only two weeks ago and I really struggled with my recovery from that one.  My goal was to run around 1:55, have some fun, and call it a day. 

I'm pretty amazed at how organized this race is considering it's only five years old.  The parking situation worried me, but it there was plenty of parking at the local high school.  Buses were taking runners to the start line but I just walked.  It was only a mile and good for a warm-up.  My race bib was for Corral A as I had qualified for preferred seeding.  One problem.  I had qualified for Corral C.  I was in Corral A with only about 30 other people who looked very, very fast.  Hilarious.

We started out by making our way across the lake before starting our trek around.  I started much like I did at Cap City with two 8 minute miles.  Unlike Cap City, I really felt like crap.  I was able to slow down by the time we made it to mile 3.  And then I actually walked for a little ways.  It wasn't painful, but my legs felt dead and just heavy.  I tried stretching out some but it really wasn't until mile 6 until I felt good again.  Not much to report.  The course itself was gorgeous with great views of the lake and plenty of shade along the way.  It was one of the hillier courses I've done this year.  There were lots of rolling hills throughout the entire race.  I just didn't feel great because of that dead feeling.  Again, there were no major goals for this race but that doesn't mean I didn't want to have fun.

Despite the crappy feeling, I was still hitting my splits!  I was at 58 minutes at the half way mark and finally starting to enjoy myself.  Mile 7 included the steepest climb of the race which seemed to go on forever.  My one complaint is that they should actually reverse the course so the runners have shade during the second half.  It started getting warmer about 8 miles in and there was no shade.  On a positive note, the volunteers at this race were some of the best I've seen at any race.  From the police officers blocking traffic to the volunteers at the water stops this was first class all the way.

I hit the 10 mile mark at about 1:27 and felt decent.  The sun was really beating down on us at this point.  I don't have too much to say about the final 5k.  I was really just trying to hang in there.  More ups and downs before we hit the final downhill and made our way across the lake (gorgeous) to the Geist Marina for the finish.  I finished strong in 1:54.21.  The finish line area was really pretty cool.  I wish I would have felt like sticking around but I really didn't.  Just found a quiet area to stretch, grabbed water and a banana, and found my way to the shuttle buses to head back to the high school (point-to-point course).  It wasn't hot until well into the second half of the race but I felt drained.  I actually didn't feel good for a few hours after the race which was great with the drive back to Dayton.  This race is very well organized and scenic.  I would recommend it to anyone.

My next half marathon isn't scheduled until late July as I'll make my way to Portland, Maine for the Old Port Half Marathon.  Between now and then I'll be running some 5ks. 

Capital City Half Marathon

I always say that I do a great job at races when I'm not coming in too confident and run poorly at those in which I come in looking for a PR.  The trend continues.  The temperature has been well above average for this time of year over the past week or so and my training has been so-so.  I'm over the knee issue that plagued me for about two months, but I did not feel great about the weather.  It's been downright miserable on short runs let alone on a 13.1 mile trek.  My attitude for this race was to simply enjoy the sites of Columbus (my favorite city to run in) and run around a 1:55.

This race started along the Scioto River in downtown Columbus.  It was pretty warm and humid when i made my way to the start at around 7:00.  I overheard a lot of people saying they weren't looking to PR because of the weather.  Based on the reports I've seen on Facebook, it looks like many runners ran a sub-par race.

We started out along the Scioto and I was amazed at how fast I felt I was going.  Too fast.  I didn't feel great by any means.  I just couldn't slow down without feeling like crap.  8:45-9:00 per mile is my usual pace for the first 5k or so.  The first mile clocked in at 7:56.  Way too fast.  The second mile was more of the same as I came in at 15:52.  Even splits but way faster than I meant to go.  The 5k came in at just under 24 minutes when I usually try for 26-27.  I really don't know why I couldn't slow down during this first part of the race.  The race conditions were far from idea.  I even started taking water at the second water stop.  Speaking of the water stops, I have a serious complaint about them.  The volunteers did a wonderful job, especially considering the heat and humidity, but this is the first larger race (13,000) I've done where each water stop was only on one side of the road.  This was a nightmare at some stops because of the number of runners.  Nobody wants to cut off other runners to run over to the other side of the road for water/Gatorade.  The entire race was like that.

I don't remember most of the mile splits past the 5k mark.  Most of them were around 8:00-8:10 per mile.  We ran over the Lane Ave. bridge, which was pretty cool, and near OSU campus.  We didn't see much of this area during last October's Columbus Marathon.  It was nice to see a few different areas.  The fastest part of the course was going south on High Street, being a nice slight downhill run.  I hit the 8 mile mark at about 1:05.  Again, much faster than I wanted to run but I was hanging in there.  We then took a short detour east away from the downtown area and then back south toward German Village.  The ten mile mark came in at 1:20 and change.  I've mentioned before that I usually hit it in 1:25-1:30.  As opposed to my last half marathon, I did not decide to go all out for a PR but instead opted to simply hold a steady pace.

German Village is a nice area to run through, but I have a complaint about this section of the race.  We were to wind our way through town some before heading back up High Street.  Right before High Street, we ran maybe a quarter mile or so on a brick street.  Maybe it's just me, but I'm sure many runners don't want to be running on a brick street around mile 12 of a half marathon.  It wasn't terribly uneven but bad enough.  High Street was up next and it was a challenge to finish this race taking the uphill portion of High toward downtown.  It was around one mile even, though I heard from many people that the course was closer to 13.25 miles.  I believe it because the finish line seemed very far away from the 13 mile marker.  At this point I finally realized that a slight PR was a possibility.  I gave it everything I had left and crossed the finish line in 1:45.35, a new PR by 9 seconds!

This was a very strange race to get a new PR.  The course is definitely fast but the weather conditions made it a challenge.  I never hit the runners high that I seem to get whenever I PR either.  It never felt easy and I never just glided along.  I'm pretty amazed that I ran a new PR, but I'm realizing that this isn't (and shouldn't be) a possibility at each of these races.  My next race is definitely one that isn't conducive for fast times so I'm hoping I can just relax and have fun.

Next race: Geist Half Marathon- Indianapolis, IN

Sugar Maple 5k

I'm usually not a big fan of racing two weeks in a row, but I've been trying to fit in some speedwork for the upcoming Capital City Half Marathon.  It turned out to be a nice race and confidence boost.

I arrived in Bellbrook about an hour before the race.  The weather wasn't the greatest, just like last week, but at least it wasn't pouring.  The temperature was in the low to mid-40s with a light mist.  We were 322 people strong.  That shows how popular these ORRRC races are in this area.  I came in just hoping for a nice race.  22-23 minutes seemed realistic, especially since I was out with friends the night before and we did not consume anything that could be considered healthy. 

The gun went off and we started our trek out of town.  I felt great from the beginning with the downhills during the first mile helping out.  The pace was fast due to the competitiveness of these ORRRC races.  I hung around with the second pack and hit the first mile in 6:58.  Not bad at all but a little fast for this early in the year for me.  We hit a nice little uphill and went straight down a little country road to the turnaround point.  I wasn't passing anyone and nobody was passing me so I was in the right place.  The second mile marker came up quickly and I hit it in 14:00.  Still hitting 7:00 miles.  The last mile seemed long to me but probably due to the long straightaway.  The uphills didn't seem to bad.  They were enough to feel great on the way down but not enough to feel bad on the way back up.  I turned back towards town and hit the third mile in 21:01 with a finishing time of 21:21.  My overall place was 50/322.  I'm very happy with this race as I didn't start hitting 21s until mid-summer last year.

The Twin Creek 10k and this race have given me quite a bit of confidence heading into my next half marathon.  I'm not one for doing much speedwork but it definitely helps.

Next race: Capital City Half Marathon- Columbus, OH

Twin Creek 10K+ Trail Run

This was only my second trail race and third 10K.  To say I was a bit nervous about this one is an understatement.  It's been very dry for well over a week now but it started raining an hour before the race and never let up.  My first trail run was nice because it wasn't on a very technical trail.  This one was nothing but hills, steep climbs, turns, and stream crossings.  The rain made for some very messy spots and everyone I saw, including me, came close to wiping out several times.  Plus the course was closer to 6.5 miles.  But I have never had more fun running trails before!

I arrived at Twin Creek at 9:00 to sign up and stretch out.  This is another ORRRC race so I didn't have to pay.  I spent most of the hour in my car because the rain really let loose.  Finally made my way to the start at about 15 minutes to the start just to get acclimated to the conditions.  The mid-50s temperature was perfect but the rain was really cold.  I didn't wear a watch and the miles weren't marked, so I'll just highlight the key points for this race. 

We were thrown right into the fire with a steep downhill to start the race.  It gave us a chance to see what the conditions were going to be like for the rest of the race.  Sloppy.  Very sloppy.  We wound our way to the first steep uphill climb which everyone walked up.  It would have been challenging in good conditions, but it was downright frightening in the torrential rain.  Then we continued climbing, running downhill and winding our way through the park to where the pond is located.  There were several short climbs here which required you to grab a branch and make your way to the top.  The area was definitely scenic and I loved the view of the pond and the river.  This was the turnaround point and we made our way back to the park entrance.  The major climbs were out of the way, except for a hill that zigzagged all the way up.  Most of the race was single track, making it difficult to pass anyone.  You really had to know that you could pass the person and stay in front of them.  I trailed another runner for about 10 minutes before finally passing him.  We went down a steep hill, crossed a stream, and made our way back up.  Somebody behind me a ways was flying down the hill which is crazy in a race like this.  I had a feeling he would be pooped on the uphill and I was right.  The last two miles were fairly straightforward with no major climbs, just muck.  But the final quarter mile was just mean.  Straight uphill to the finish line.  I finished in 1:00.13 which was actually my goal before the rain started.  I was very surprised to find that I placed third in my age group. 

This race reminded me why trail running is such a different beast.  But it's definitely fun.  My legs were covered in mud.  I was wet and cold.  But I loved every minute of it.

I'm not 100% sure what my next race is going to be.  If I feel up to it I'll be running in the Sugar Maple 5k on Saturday.  If not, the Capital City Half Marathon will be next.

ORRRC Half Marathon

I rarely do the same race twice unless it's 1) one of my absolute favorites, or 2) very close to where I live.  The Ohio River Road Runners' Club Half Marathon is both one of my favorites and only a 25 minute drive away from home.  I came into this one on minimal training after twisting my knee on a trail run last month.  It's nothing major, but it does give me problems after I get to 6 or 7 miles.  I haven't been able to do a long run since the Augusta Half Marathon one month ago.  This led to me having pretty low expectations going into this race.  I was sure I'd have fun, but I only set the goal of keeping my sub-2:00 streak alive.  Nothing close to a PR.  I didn't even wear a watch because I didn't want to put any pressure on myself.  Apparently this is my new recipe for success.

It was a beautiful race morning with temps around 52 degrees with some patchy fog.  Last year's race started in freezing conditions so it was nice to be able to warm-up outside rather than inside the Xenia YMCA like last year.  I gave myself a solid hour to stretch, walk around a bit and listen to some music.  There were four hundred more people in this year's race which is probably due to the extremely mild winter we had.  People were actually able to train for a March marathon/half-marathon.  The start was a bit more congested than last year, but it was handled very well.  We lined up outside the Y to start the race.

Miles 1-5: Not a whole lot to comment on during this first stretch as it's the same course as last year.  We made a loop north of the Y and made our way back south to the bike path.  I was feeling pretty good and in control of my pace.  I don't have many splits since I wasn't wearing a watch.  Mile 2 came in at 16:58 so I knew I had actually started faster than I normally do.  But I really didn't care because I felt great.  We hit the bike path for a quarter mile or so, then on to a country road with a few hills.  These were the only hills on the course and they're actually a nice change of pace.  I knew where we were on this course at all times since I ran it last year which certainly helped.  We made our way back to the bike path just after mile 4 and began the long trek toward the turn around at Central State University.

Miles 6-10:  What I'm about to say is something I've repeated on this blog several times.  Some races go by without that elusive "runner's high".  But once in a while a race comes along in which I feel like the miles are going by effortlessly.  This was one of those experiences and it was something I haven't had since the Air Force Half Marathon last September.  One of the few clocks in this race is at mile 6.  I made a point to look at it because I knew I was running a respectable time.  50:31.  What?  I'm usually around 54-55 minutes at the 6 mile mark.  And I still felt great!  But I didn't mess with the idea of a PR just yet.  My training had been terrible recently, so I just held at the pace I had been running.  We continued on the bike path and made the left hand turn towards Central State.  This path is probably 3/4 mile long before turning back around and hitting the 8 mile marker.  Then a right turn back to where we came from.  I took Gatorade at both aid stations during this section, but I actually jogged through the aid stations which I normally don't do.  I won a mini-battle with a few other runners who I was playing back and forth with and noticed I had picked off a few more runners along the way.  The 10 mile mark was coming up which is located in the same spot as the 6 mile mark.  That meant a clock.  At this point I was beyond curious.  1:22 and change!!!  My normal ten mile time is around 1:28-1:30.  Decision made.  I'm going for a new PR!

Mile 11-Finish: I picked it up some after seeing the clock, but I kept it within reason.  No sense going for a new PR and bonking two miles down the road.  I was feeling good despite my knee aching some.  But I absolutely could not cut back on my pace.  My goal last year was to break 1:50 and I ran a 1:50.01 at the Air Force Half.  It was a new PR, but knowing I was that close to breaking the mark was frustrating.  No way was that happening here.  We kept up with the bike path until the last mile or so (I even skipped the last water station on the bike path) which finishes in town.  Knowing where I was as I stepped off the bike path definitely helped.  The last bit is uphill and it was a struggle to finish strong, but I gave it everything I had left.  I can't wait to see the photos at the finish line because I had to have looked like a complete idiot.  Seeing the time on the clock confirmed a new PR but by much more than I thought.

1:45.44!!!  A new PR by over four minutes!

I had to have looked like a little kid when I crossed the mat and threw out the fist pump.  But I did remember to stretch out good after the race, unlike some of my previous PR races.  After stretching, I got some chicken noodle soup, fruit, water, and Gatorade before leaving.  This race is really a bargain at $25.  We also received a New Balance tech tee.  Much nicer than some of the larger races I've done.  I decided against doing a half in April and will focus on the Capital City Half Marathon in May.  That race was going to be my PR attempt, so I'm not quite sure where to set the bar for that race.  I do have a couple of shorter races for some speedwork to keep April interesting.

Next race: Twin Creek 10K- Germantown, OH