Run to the Wall Half Marathon

I'm way behind on the blog and I have a half marathon tomorrow.  Let's get to it!

I was itching to race.  It had been a month and a half since I ran the BW5K and had a solid effort.  I was also wanting to get in another half to make sure I hit 60 this year.  Well, I got my wish at the Run to the Wall Half Marathon in Clinton, Ohio, which is close to Akron.  But I plan on hitting on the snags presented at this race.

First, I do want to say this race has a terrific cause.  From the website, "All proceeds from the Run to the Wall are used to continue to build and maintain the Ohio Veterans' Memorial Park, which is run and maintained by an ALL volunteer staff."  The OVMP is a very cool park with memorials and statues dedicated to Ohioans who fought in wars from Vietnam on.  It's a small park but very well maintained.  FW and I particularly enjoyed the Cobra AH-F1 display and POW/MIA reflection pond.  It's a nice find in small town Ohio.  I highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area.

The race organization on the other hand left a bit to be desired.  This summer has been HOT.  We've been lucky the past few years but this one has been a scorcher.  So imagine everyone's surprise when we hear there will only be three water stops!  Seriously!  What FW and I heard was there would be stops at miles 3, 6, and 11.  Umm...seriously?  No water for five miles on a hilly course in August?  Now they did say they would give us 8oz bottles at the stops, so I'm thinking I can at least carry that for a mile or so.  More on that soon.

Here we go.  My goal for the race was to stay in the 1:45 range.

Miles 1-5:  We started from the park and hit the village of Clinton.  The hills started in right away and stayed throughout the race.  I headed out with the top six runners but knew I couldn't keep that up.  I did not have my GPS watch on me so there are no splits.  That's probably a good thing.  It took a very short time to hit the first snag.  At around 1.5 miles I saw a small water stop right as I passed it (on the opposite side of the road of course).  Nobody was yelling anything and they didn't even look like they were set up yet.  I asked FW about this later and she also heard the announcer say there was a water stop at the 5k mark.  Well, apparently he meant the 5k turnaround mark.  So now I'm down to two water stops for a half marathon instead of three.  And it was getting pretty hot despite the 7:00 start.

Miles 6-10:  I was already starting to give up.  The hills were relentless and water was nonexistent.  I took the little bit at mile 6 but that didn't last long.  Remember the 8oz water bottles?  Well, they didn't leave the caps on so the water just sloshed around.  Rather than losing it all, I decided to just drink it up and hope for the best.  The course was tough but scenic in parts.  We were still going around on country roads and seeing very few people.  I thought I was slowing down quite a bit, but the downhill portions were still helping my time.  I was mostly just thinking of getting to the finish.

Miles 11-13.1: Water!  We hit the final water stop at mile 11 and it was just as wonderful as I imagined.  It at least perked me up a bit and I felt like the last few miles went well.  I was drained, but I was able to pick up the pace as we made our way back into Clinton and the park.  FW was waiting on me during the lap around the park and gave me a high-five!  I probably looked like death as I came in to the finish.  My time was a ho-hum 1:46:44, my worst of the past few years, though I did finish 13/82 overall and won my age group.

Then came the awards.  I've never seen anything like it.  The website said they would not mail awards, so we decided to stay longer since I won my division.  The 5k awards were first...and took over an hour!  Seriously.  There was a raffle mixed in there which didn't help.  Then the 10k awards started.  After another 20 minutes or so, I told FW let's just get going as I needed to eat and rest.

Again, this race was for a wonderful cause that I fully support.  But I do not plan on going back unless they get some better organization.

Next race: Blueberry Festival 5k- Lexington, OH

BW5K

Well, this is certainly the latest I've ever done a race report.  I'm in a strange lull between races and have not had one in over a month.  I still have a few weeks until the next one and realized I haven't reviewed this terrific local race yet.

This one was at nearby Pleasant Hill Lake in the Mohican area.  I ran the Mohican 17k last year from the same site, but this 5k was FAR better organized.  Ohio Race Day does a wonderful job organizing races in the Mansfield area and I've enjoyed every single one.  This race was on a hot day but offered plenty of shade.  I felt pretty good and had a strategy of starting off slower than other recent 5ks and seeing if I could run more even splits.

The race included a high school challenge, so there were a bunch of fast kids lined up in the front.  I tucked in behind them and started off at a good pace.  My goal was to stick with the second pack of high school runners (this race made me feel old) and try to hang on.  We moved away from the lake on a paved trail and weaved around the south portion of the lake.  It wasn't particularly scenic but the shade was wonderful.  I passed several younger runners early on and had a nice first mile in the 6:50 range.  That's right where I planned to be and hoped to stay in that range.

We continued weaving around in several small loops and I passed a few more younger runners late in the second mile.  I did miss a turn for one loop and had to make it up which cost me a few seconds.  Thankfully, I was feeling stronger than in my last few 5ks.  The second mile came in around 6:45 so I was holding steady.  The only real hill on the course showed up around 2.5 miles in and it was a rough one.  There was no shade and we were still on asphalt.  It was tough but I was able to pass one more runner and glide in for a great 20:11.  This is actually one of my top five 5k attempts and it was good enough for 24/92 overall (there were 23 sub 20:00 times!) and first in my age group.

Hopefully I can keep up with this blog in the near future!

Next race: Run to the Wall Half Marathon- Clinton, OH

Kingwood Center 5k

FW and went to the Kingwood Center 5k last week.  Last year, FW ran a personal best at this race.  Her goal for this year's was to beat her time at the Flying Pig 5k last month.  She's been able to get outside more, but she's still getting into the swing of things.

First, we had to fight cicadas.  They're back with a vengeance after a 17 year absence.  And they're really not bright.  Seriously, they fly right into you no matter what you're doing.  They were all over the Kingwood Center, which isn't surprising with all the trees and flowers for them to munch on.

We started out near the local high school for a straightaway and turnaround in the parking lot.  FW surprised me by mixing in some light jogging during the first mile.  It was very warm out, but she's improved by running a lighter pace and lasting longer.  We then went down a grassy trail to hit the nearby bike path where we would stay for the majority of the race.  I could tell FW was feeling pretty good despite the up and down training.  Her first mile clocked in at 17:29.

The bike path portion went on for a while and, thankfully, the cicadas were not bothering us here.  We saw several people we knew heading back toward the Kingwood Center which was nice.  FW sprinkled in some more jogging and was still feeling good.  We then made our way around a long loop at North Lake Park.  The park is very pretty this time of year.  The jogging stopped momentarily, so I grabbed a water for FW at the water stop.  We then made our way back to the bike path and hit the second mile marker in 17:25.

FW was finally feeling the race during the third mile and had to slow down.  We walked most of the mile until we came back to the grassy trail leading us back to Kingwood.  There was one hill here but FW jogged up in a good effort.  We then stayed made our way into Kingwood for the downhill finish.  Our last mile was in 18:10 and FW finished her 5k in 55:48.  This was a bit faster than her effort at the Flying Pig, plus it was much hotter at this one.

FW is planning on running the Ontario Liberty 5k on July 4 which is coming up fast.  We're ramping up her training over the next week.

Next race: BW5k- Pleasant Hill Lake, Ohio

Heartland Series Ohio Half Marathon

This is the fourth time I've done half marathons on back-to-back weeks. I wasn't planning on doing so, but FW convinced me to do the Medina Half on Memorial Day weekend.  This race is part of the Mainly Marathons race series which is becoming increasingly popular.  If you aren't familiar with it, you have the opportunity to follow a great group of people through a different state each day for a week or so.  It's extremely popular for 50 Staters, Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics.  The Ohio race was in Bryan, Ohio, about two and a half hours from Mansfield.  I didn't do the next day's race in Michigan because it was another 100 miles or so from Bryan.  What's nice is the Mainly Marathons group has offered up one free race to anyone who hasn't previously done one of their races.  What great marketing!  The hotel options aren't numerous but they are inexpensive.  It turned into a nice, low-key race weekend.

FW and I showed up the night before and stopped in at Stoney Ridge Winery about three miles north of our hotel.  This was one of the nicest wineries we've visited!  We really wanted to tour the grounds, but it was raining cats and dogs.  We had some samples and bought a couple bottles to bring home.  Highly recommended!  We then had a nice dinner and turned in for the night as the race started at 6:00am.

The race start is at nearby Moore Park which had plenty of parking.  I don't think I've seen so many Maniacs and Fanatics at such a small race before.  The course was an out and back that we ran multiple times.  There was a marathon, half marathon, and 5k going on which made it a bit difficult at times.  Now, this is different from other races because very, very few people were actually racing.  Most folks were doing multiple days and were going at slower paces.  I was setting up for a solid half marathon to finish out the first part of the year.

As this is a loop course, I don't plan on doing my usual breakdown (Miles 1-5, 6-10, 11-13.1).  Instead I'll simply give my thoughts on the race and the splits I have.  My GPS watch conked out at about the 11.5 mile mark and didn't save the data.

We started out from the meager start line and I felt good right away.  It was warm out, but  it felt much better than Medina the previous week.  The eventual marathon winner took off like it was a 5k, so I settled in well behind him and tried to hold my ground.  The course wasn't bad for 8 laps as we ran through Moore Park.  It offered plenty of shade but it stayed a pretty overcast day for the most part.

My race took an odd turn at the end of the first lap.  We had torrential rains the night before, so the first 200 meters or so were a bit rough through the gravel parking lot.  The rest was on asphalt.  I was making the turn from the asphalt trail to the parking lot at the end of the first lap when I spotted FW.  I gave her a quick wave, took two more steps, and slipped on the one muddy spot.  Well, not slipped, more like went flying and landed on both hands and my right leg.  FW was of course scared that I really hurt myself, but I quickly yelled "I'm fine" and ran toward the water station where I assessed my wounds.  Thankfully, I only had some scratches on my hands and right leg.  It could have seriously broken my arm with the way I landed.  I poured some water on my hands and kept going.

FW saw me a bunch more times and asked if I was ok.  I told her I was indeed fine and just had some minor scratches and a bruised ego.  That's the first time I've fallen in a race and I hope it's the last.  The second and third laps were a bit slower as I kept looking at my bleeding hands, but I eventually settled into a solid pace.

As for the people, they're awesome.  I don't know how many times I yelled "Good job Maniac/Fanatic" only to hear "Good job Fanatic", as I was wearing my Half Fanatics singlet.  Everyone was having a good time and, with it being a loop course, you got to know everyone along the way.

I was able to finish the half in 1:40:18 which was good enough for 1/30 overall.  I'll take it but, again, this isn't a typical race.

Tomorrow morning is the next race which is one of FW's favorites.

Next race: Kingwood 5k- Mansfield, OH

Medina Half Marathon

This is only the fourth time I'm running half marathons on back-to-back weekends.  The first was a repeat in nearby Medina, Ohio.  I ran a surprisingly good time at this tough race last year.  It has the highest number of turns in any race I've done and it has plenty of elevation differences.  We had the added bonus of high temperatures and humidity at this year's event.  The early 6:45 start helped some but not enough.

The race is extremely easy to get to as FW and I parked at a nearby school within three blocks of the start.  The organizers were nice enough to offer race day packet pick up for those who couldn't make it the night before.  FW and I could tell it was going to get hot as I went through my warm-ups, though she was looking forward to going to the nearby coffee shop after the start.  I'll leave the description to her in her spectator report at the end of this post!

This race is in its fourth year but it's very well organized.  They even had pacers, which is nice for an event with fewer than 1000 runners.  I lined up near the front with the 1:40 pace group and hoped to stay in that range.  The gun went off and we started our trek out of Medina.

Miles 1-5: This was the easy part of the course as it was a net downhill for the first six or so miles.  I decided to go against typical race strategy and start off fast and try to maintain in the second half.  You'll see by my splits that this strategy wasn't perfect as there was nothing consistent about race.  We weaved north (remember the turns) away from downtown and started heading east.  This part of the course was nothing difficult and I started out way too fast.  I started feeling it right around mile 5 as we started around Lake Medina.  Here are the splits for the first five: (1) 6:57, (2) 6:53, (3) 7:07, (4) 7:00, (5) 7:20.  Well, I guess this was consistent, but it was way too fast!  I actually would have had a 10k PR in this race.

Miles 6-10:  The section around Lake Medina was actually the roughest because there was no shade and the sun was already beating down.  I didn't start walking quite yet but wanted to.  We then headed south and entered a residential area.  I started walking soon into mile 7.  There were a decent number of people out and about cheering on the runners.  That was appreciated, but I just could not pull it together and sprinkled in more quick walk breaks on hills.  My splits started suffering, which I did expect.  Here are the splits for this section: (6) 7:33, (7) 8:17, (8) 7:45, (9) 8:19, (10) 7:53.  You could tell I was up and down during this section and barely holding on to a good time.

Miles 11-13.1: And the wheels completely fall off!  I pretty well gave up here and just tried to hold on for a good time.  The heat and humidity was relentless and I was done.  I got passed by several people here but I was still running a decent race.  We completed our semi-circle around Medina and headed back north to the finish line.  I did have a very good last mile as I was able to finish without walking.  The final push of this race is very tough as it's about half a mile at a pretty good grade.  Here are the final splits:  (11) 8:52, (12) 8:48, (13) 7:20. 

Despite my very up and down race (figuratively and literally), I was able to finish in a respectable 1:40:31.  This was good enough for 7/49 and 52/790 overall.  Not a bad effort considering the horrible heat and humidity.

There's not much time before my last half marathon for the first half of the year as I'm doing a freebie in NW Ohio in a few days!

Next race: Hearland Series Ohio Half Marathon- Bryan, OH

Flying Pig Half Marathon

I am way behind with this blog!  My next race is in...umm...tomorrow.  In our last entry, we covered the Flying Pig 5k.  FW and I had a lot of fun with it and she gave a great effort.  We spent that night in Cincinnati in anticipation of the half marathon on Sunday.  The forecast was still looking like rain (it rained cats and dogs on Saturday).  But we got lucky and it actually turned into one of the nicest days we have had this Spring.

The half marathon started at 6:30 am outside of Paul Brown Stadium.  As a Browns fan, I found that part disgusting, but it's actually a very well organized start area.  FW was able to come down to the start area with me and find a place to watch the start of the race.  I was signed up to start in Corral A but worked my way back into B.  This race has some massive hills halfway through and I didn't want to start out too fast.  I ran a 1:40:42 last year and I was shooting for a sub 1:40 this go round.

Miles 1-5: The race starts by heading east along the river.  We then head over the bridge to Newport, Kentucky around the one mile mark.  There's not a lot of mileage in Kentucky, but it is very cool to run in two states in the same race.  I felt good early on and focused on running even splits with a target pace of 7:50.  The humidity was going up early on which was a surprise.  After heading west through Newport we cross back into Ohio at the four mile mark.  We head north towards downtown at around the five mile mark.  Here are my splits for the first five: 1 (8:02), 2 (7:43), 3 (7:40), 4 (7:24), 5 (7:28).  I was well below my goal pace and hoped that banking some time early on may just get me to my goal.

Miles 6-10: This is the interesting part of the race.  We finish the downtown section and the small hills start at the end of mile 6.  I was still feeling pretty good, but I realized we were getting close to the Eden Park section.  Eden Park is beautiful (FW and I went to Krohn Conservatory located within the park later that day), but the hills are BRUTAL.  The longest one goes straight up for about 3/4 mile, then turns only to become another hill.  It's a lot.  The scenery is amazing.  There was a low lying mist over the lake within Eden Park.  It was one of the most beautiful sights I've seen during any race.  I was also still feeling pretty good, though my splits took a hit during this section.  But what goes up must come down.  Miles 9 and 10 are mostly downhill and I passed a lot of people during this portion.  It's hard to hit the brakes at all on these downhills, so it does wear out the quads.  Here are my splits: 6 (7:22), 7 (7:59), 8 (7:45), 9 (7:19), 10 (7:25).  

Miles 11-13.1: The final few miles of this race are pretty uneventful.  We hit more downhills as you'll see from the amazing splits for the final three miles.  But there's not much to look at.  I focused in on passing people and coming in under 1:40, which was still in the cards.  I had to walk for about 30 seconds during mile 12 as those downhills had completely destroyed my quads.  I started back up and focused on finishing strong, complete with playing up to the crowd at the finish.  Here are the final splits: 11 (6:55), 12 (6:38), 13 (6:55).  I finished by running a 1:39:20 and finished 210/11,646 overall, which is a pretty good showing.

Let's get to FW's Spectator Report!

This is the first installment of my spectator report :) I definitely recommend this race if you have family with you.  I was able to easily see Chris both at the start and finish.  You are also able to easily walk from the start to the finish area and there are labeled reunion areas to meet your runner after the race. During the race I recommend visiting one of the park areas along the river.  On the walk from the start to finish you will pass a park area with swings right along the river.  There are plenty of goodies in the finish area including pancakes and sliders. After the race I recommend checking out Newport on the Levee, right across the river from Cincinnati.  It has restaurants, shopping, and a great aquarium.

Next race: Medina Half Marathon- Medina, OH

Flying Pig 5k

FW and I traveled to Cincinnati for the Flying Pig last weekend.  Last year, FW did the 5k and I did the 3 Way Challenge (5k, 10k, half).  I skipped the 10k this year so I could sleep in for the Saturday 5k.  FW was pretty nervous about this one as she has not been able to train much this year.  Her goal was to simply have fun and come in under an hour.

The weekend started comically as we got to the expo on Friday as it was closing.  We had trouble getting out of Mansfield and sped down to Cincy.  So we literally had to race to get our packets and shirts.  That was different.  When they say the expo closes at 7:00, it closes at 7:00!

The weather was not comical as there were reports of thunderstorms for both days.  The race organizers did a great job of communicating weather reports and how the race would be run if there was bad weather.

Race morning was windy and cool as we made our way from our hotel to Great American Ballpark for the start.  We stretched out and tried our best to keep warm.  Last year was very warm which shows you can't even take May for granted in Ohio.  FW just wanted to start the race so we made our way to our corral.  Here's our report:

The course was the same as last year as we started with a long straightaway with one slight hill at the end.  FW started out walking at a brisk pace that was much faster than what she's been doing at home.  She was looking good and having fun.  As we crested the one hill, she even jogged some down the other side.  This was a pleasant surprise!  We rounded the bend and started down the next long straightaway.  Her first mile came in at 17:58.

The second straightaway ends with us heading north near downtown.  There's a long uphill here and FW slowed down just a bit.  But she again powered down the other side with some light jogging.  The rain started just shy of the two mile mark but it stayed light.  We started heading back to the start by finishing the loop.  Her second mile was 18:14.

There's a long section during the second mile that's under a highway overpass.  It's longer than it looks but it is a quick section of the course.  FW sprinkled a bit of jogging here and kept up her steady pace.  We both knew she would come in under an hour, so we focused more on enjoying ourselves.  The rain did start to pick up some as we made the last turn to the finish.  The finish area at the Flying Pig is maddening as the straightaway is much longer than it appears.  FW jogged a bit into the finish with a final time of 57:02.

I'm proud of how FW did at this race.  She has been unable to train for so long, so to come out and do the 5k, with some jogging throughout, is a great accomplishment.  The rest of the weekend was very full and she wound up logging over 17 miles walking around.  She should be ready to sprinkle in more jogging as we boost her cardio.

My half marathon report is coming soon.  But I want to give FW a chance to share her own thoughts on the race!

FW Report

The race was very fun and very challenging this year.  I had some health issues this winter, but I am doing better now and plan to get back in fighting shape.  FH (future husband) is a great coach and helped me through!  Even though the weather this year wasn't the greatest the post race festival is awesome.  You can even get free pancakes, muffins, and yogurt from First Watch.  I highly recommend the 5K for anyone new to running or looking to get back into shape.