Thoughts on 2017 Running Year

2017 was an interesting year for me.  While I still ran seven half marathons, I focused more on the 5k.  I ran surprising PRs in both the 5k and 10k while maintaining a good pace in the half marathon.  W and I have a lot of life changes coming up and I figured this would be my last year running in 15+ races.

2017 Race Totals

5k- 9
10k- 1
12.5k- 1
Half Marathon- 7

Grand total of 133.55 miles in races.

Favorite races

• ONU Polar Bear Indoor Half Marathon- I enjoyed this one just as much as 2016 and am schedule to do it again in 2018.  I chipped off over a minute and hope to come in near 1:40 next time.  The cross country and track teams do a great job to make this one fun.
• Ohio Road Runners Club Half Marathon- No surprise here.  This was my sixth time running my favorite race.  
• Capital City Half Marathon- The weather made this one nerve wracking at the end, but the fast course more than made up for it.  I came close to getting a PR at this one.  
• Heartland 5k- I got a new 5k PR of 19:39 at this race in nearby Lexington.  I actually really enjoyed the course as over a quarter of it is on bike path and the few hills through town helped to break it up.
• Columbus Half Marathon- This one was run at Alum Creek in nearby Delaware.  I came into it with zero expectations and came out of it with a sub-1:40.  The course is pretty scenic with enough variety to keep things interesting.
• Mohican 5k- This was a surprising first place finish for me this year.  The course is a flat and fast out and back mostly on a bike path.  The small hills at the end were killer but I really enjoyed this race.
• Amish Country Half Marathon- My slowest time came at this one but who cares?  This is a fun race at which you get the opportunity to "conquer the hills".  It's tough but the organization is outstanding.

Let's look at my goals for the year.

• Set another new half marathon PR.  I am signed up for the ORRRC Half again.  I've PR'd three times at that race and I know the course like the back of my hand.   I came close a few times but couldn't get past 1:36.  I very much doubt I'll break this any time soon.
• Break 1:35 in the half marathon.  See above.
• Set a new 5k PR.  Let's try this one again.  I set a new PR with a 19:39 and followed it up with a 19:42 two weeks later.  I finished the year with three sub-20:00s, compared to only two all-time entering 2017.
• Run 6-7 half marathons and start to focus more on local 5ks.   I ran seven half marathons and nine 5ks.  That's a rarity for me.
• Find a trail 5k in the area.  I ran the 12.5k Super Bull Trail over in Wooster in March.  It was tough and my shoelaces were frozen at the end but it was a blast!
• A new 5k PR for W.  W ran a few 5ks but hasn't been able to consistently train.

2018 Running Goals

• Run 3-5 half marathons.  This would get me to 70 overall.
• Shoot for 19:30 in the 5k.  This is lofty but I think I can do it in the right conditions.
• Run 750 miles in 2018.  I've been over 1000 the past several years but I won't be able to maintain it.
• Win one or two local 5ks.  If I'm going to focus on that distance, I feel this is possible.

Amish Country Half Marathon

I finished my 2017 racing season with the same race from the end of 2016.  For whatever reason, the Amish Country half in Berlin felt much more difficult this time around.  I had a slower than usual time at it last year and wasn't expecting a lot going in.  I was only looking for a good hard run and the burning legs afterward. 

I got to Hiland High School in plenty of time for the race start.  It was cool again this year but without the rain.  I toyed with the idea of not wearing my Columbus Marathon jacket, then decided to keep it since there was a breeze.  Overall, I was thrilled the weather was cooperating.

Miles 1-5: My data from my GPS watch got deleted so I don't have splits for this one.  We started out with a lap on the track before heading south and hitting some country roads.  The hills here felt much worse than last year, particularly the downhills in the first two miles.  It just felt like we were going too fast.  This despite the fact I ran with the 1:45 pace group for most of the race.  I remember my splits were all over the place as they were last year.  I wasn't feeling bad by any means but this is a tough race to pace.  The views, however, are really cool.  There's no traffic to worry about and many of the Amish are out to see the race.  It's really a nice experience.

Miles 6-10: Miles 6-7 are tough.  I mean really tough.  The hills continue and there is one that seems to go forever.  It's also one thing to up a hill, it's another to go up one that winds on the way up.  It kills the quads.  Then you get the downhill that almost feels worse.  I was still with the 1:45 pace leader during this section.  Several other runners and I were going back and forth which seems pretty pointless now.  We headed east as we continued on our loop course, then turned north a mile or two down the road.  The section heading north is hilly but not as bad as the previous section.  The problem is that your quads are already destroyed by this point.  I was trying to hang in for a 1:45 finish.

Miles 11-13.1: You know what's coming if you read last year's post.  The loop finishes with a long and gradual uphill along State Route 39.  This makes up for the relatively flat portion we just finished.  We go up, then get a nice downhill, then a steeper uphill to the school.  I was done by the end of this and knew I would be just shy of my goal time.  We headed to the school for a finish lap around the track and I hit the mat in 1:45:39.  That's not a bad time and it was good enough for 37/222 overall.  I did enjoy the race and may even run it again next year.  It's a great way to burn off the Thanksgiving dinner!

Things are looking similar to the past year as I am taking a break after this race and getting back to it at the Ohio Northern University Indoor Half Marathon at the end of next month.  In the meantime, I will be back with this year's review and thoughts.

Next race: ONU Polar Bear Indoor Half Marathon- Ada, OH

Inland Trail Half Marathon

I'm a few weeks past this race and have my next in about a week.  This one is run in Elyria, about an hour and a half away, and has been on my list for a few years.  The description reminded me of the ORRRC Half so I've been wanting to give it a try.  It's run on the Inland Trail which covers a good portion of northern Ohio.  I used to run it all the time in Fremont.  However, the course was changed last year and features far less bike path than before.  I guess a lot of runners complained of the monotony. 

Race morning started rough as the forecast called for scattered thunderstorms.  I saw lightning strikes toward Elyria on the way up and pulled over to make sure the race was still on.  The rain stopped soon after I picked up my packet.  I checked the weather again and it looked like we could get the race in, though I'm not sure about the marathoners on the course.  The temperature was also high for early November with temps near 60 at the start.

We headed out from the Murray Ridge School for a loop around the west side of Elyria.  I felt good from the start but didn't want to overdo it.  I ran with a couple marathoners who were trying to stick near a 7:40 pace.  We ran together for about the first 6-7 miles.  The first and only hill hit during the fifth mile, but it wasn't terribly long or steep.  Again, I felt good and was just running on feel since my half training has suffered this Fall.  My splits were amazingly consistent over the first five miles.  Here are the splits: 7:34, 7:35, 7:33, 7:37, 7:33.  I'm not sure if I've ever ran the first miles in a half marathon in such consistent times.

I was surprised that we were still on the road this late in the race and underestimated how much they must have changed the course.  The other two runners I was with agreed that they thought we would be on the bike path by mile 5 or so.  We finally hit it near the 7.5 mile mark.  Again, I'm surprised by the small amount of distance on the path.  If you plan on doing that, maybe go on and off the path a few times to completely break up the monotony.  ORRRC does this with a short bit on the path at mile 2.  I finally left the two full marathoners at mile 8 and just focused on my pace.  I was counting the number of returning half marathoners and guessed I was close to the top ten.  My pace was still consistent, but I did slow down a bit during this stretch.  Here are miles 5-10: 7:37, 7:38, 7:25, 7:47,7:40.  Not bad times but I was starting to feel the race.

We hit the turnaround at mile 10 and headed back to the school for the finish.  I caught up to another runner who I chatted with during the final miles.  We were both shooting for 1:40 times and focused on pushing each other.  There's not much to say as we just stayed on the path until the final half mile or so.  We pushed each other to the school and finished very strong.  My time was a surprising 1:39:53.  Here are the final three splits: 7:39, 7:33, 7:36.

What was more surprising than my time is I took 8/76 overall and second in my age group!  I was very happy to place in my age group, but I'm more thrilled to break 1:40 for the fifth time in a row.  I don't think I'll be so lucky at my next race.

Next race: Amish Country Half Marathon- Berlin, OH

Mohican 5k

W and I have had a very busy Fall and I've fallen behind on the blog again.  I found this smaller 5k down in nearby Loudonville and decided to try it instead of a half.  My training has been so-so, but it had been a while since I last ran a race.  I was surprised to see the course looked flat, which is not what you are expecting near Mohican State Park.

I did my usual "I don't feel like doing this today" thing that morning.  W is used to it and told me to have fun.  She really knows how to handle my quirks when it comes to running.  I headed to Loudonville and got there in plenty of time for a mile warm-up.  The weather has been surprisingly warm and it felt humid out, too.  We're not used to October humidity in Ohio!  It looked like around 100 runners at the start line and I head toward the front.

We took off on road from a small village park and headed southeast toward Route 3.  This portion was maybe 3/4 mile long and I felt good from the start.  I tucked in to fourth place for this first section and just tried to hold on for an age group win.  The three runners in front of me looked like they were in high school, so I just tried to keep up with them.  We turned onto a bike path running parallel to Route 3 and headed south to the turnaround.  My first mile came in at a solid 6:27, though I was aiming for just shy of 7:00.  I somehow passed two runners at about 1.5 miles in and found myself in second place.  The first runner had taken off strong and I just worked on maintaining a good pace.  We hit the turnaround I was just over a 20:00 pace.  The first runner was still ahead but I noticed I had gained some ground.

I knew I had the age group thing in the bag and decided to see what I had left in the tank.  I could also tell the leader was losing some steam and I still felt great.  My second mile clocked in at a good 6:45 pace so I hadn't slowed down too much.  The leader was really losing steam and I caught up to him just after the two mile mark.  We ran together for a short time and I made my move with 3/4 mile to go.  The bike path took a short downhill and I flew down that to create a bit of separation.  The last 1/4 mile was tough, but somehow, someway, I was able to cruise in for a surprising first place finish!  My final mile was a shocking 6:18 and my overall time was 20:25.  Not bad at all for a last minute 5k!

I might run another 5k in December but now it's time to refocus on my favorite distance.

Next race: Inland Trail Half Marathon- Elyria, OH

Fall Trail Run Half Marathon

It’s been almost a month since my last race and motivation has been an issue.  I don’t have another race until mid-October as W and I have intense work responsibilities right now.  I should be back to normal in November and hope to finish the year strong.

The last race was the Fall Trail Run in Millersburg.  I ran this one in 2014 and was not terribly impressed, but simply wanted to run a half on Labor Day weekend this year.  W and I spent about five days in Traverse City, Michigan prior this race and I was able to get some nice running around the lake.  Couple that with cooler temps and I knew I could run a fast time on a very flat and fast course.

This one is very low-key and is completely on the bike path.  There are no major road crossings and you can really just zone out and run.  Parts of it remind me of the ORRRC Marathon but with fewer runners.  I found myself completely alone for the majority of the race, making it feel like an intense training run rather than a race.  Here is my full report.

Miles 1-5: This race has a really odd start.  We begin by heading north on the path for not quite a half mile before turning around and heading back the other way.  I think this is done to avoid the road crossings we would have to go through if we simply went south.  The turnaround didn’t seem as quick as it did in 2014 and I immediately had the feeling the course would be long.  Like I mentioned earlier, this race was small with only 48 runners in the half (there was also a 10k and 5k).  I passed a few runners after the first mile and a half and was alone from then on.  This might have been a problem if the weather hadn’t cooperated, but it was a perfect cool day with temps in the low 50s.  I felt great and took in the sights.  The course was much prettier than I remembered as the entire course is tree-lined with an occasional marsh/pond.  The first five clicked off easily.  Here are the splits: 1 (7:38), 2 (7:30), 3 (7:30), 4 (7:38), 5 (7:30).  Those are some very consistent splits.

Miles 6-10:  I was clicking off the mileage but started having mild GI issues during this section.  I stopped off at the turnaround point in the middle of mile 8.  I lost about a minute here but still felt I could get in under 1:40.  It was nice to FINALLY see some other runners as we passed each other near the turnaround.  Everyone was really friendly and encouraging to each other.  I think this is especially noticeable at these smaller races.  Around mile 9 or so I stopped seeing other runners and zoned out again.  The still cool weather was making my legs feel great this late in a half.  Here are the splits: 6 (7:22), 7 (7:20), 8 (8:25), 9 (7:22), 10 (7:25).

Miles 11-13:  Not much to say!  More bike path!  Some 10k runners were still out so I was able to encourage them as I continued on.  I was certain the course was going to be long by quite a bit and I was correct.  My watch measured it at 13.4 at the finish, so it was off by a wide margin.  Even though I had a feeling that it was long, I still knew I could just get in with another sub-1:40.  The last mile flew by as I passed some more 10k runners and finally hit the finish with a solid 1:39:31.  Not bad at all!  The final splits were: 11 (7:22), 12 (7:15), 13 (6:55).  This was good enough for 9/48 overall.  I’m very happy with that result since these smaller races can often bring out very fast, local runners. 

The next one isn’t for a while yet and is a 5k instead of a half. 

Next race: Mohican 5k- Loudonville, OH

Columbus Half Marathon

No, this is not THE Columbus Half Marathon, but rather an older and smaller version held in the summer.  It's moved several times and this year was held in beautiful Alum Creek State Park near Delaware.  Despite not being the big city version, I actually enjoyed the course and crew far more.

This race did require an early wake up time of 4:30.  Ugh.  W stayed at home as I wanted her to rest and didn't anticipate much for her to do at the park.  I got to Alum Creek at about 6:30 for the 7:05 start.  We finally got some much needed cooler weather with highs in the mid-70s.  It was in the low 60s with a slight breeze in the morning which felt great.  I warmed up a bit and headed to the start line.

Miles 1-5: I've focused in on the 5k for the past three months and haven't ran anything over seven miles.  The strategy was to ease into this one and shoot for 8:00 miles.  If I felt great, go.  If not, try to finish around 1:45 which I can normally do on a bad day.  We started out with a loop in the enormous parking lot before heading out the road.  That took up about a mile as we headed for the loop course around Alum Creek Reservoir.  I felt good right from the beginning and settled in to a nice 8:00 pace.  The coolest part of the race was just after mile two when we ran over the dam.  It was a pretty smooth trail surface and it gave us some great views of the lake.  This portion lasted about a mile before we hit Africa Road and headed north.  Here are the splits for the first five: 1 (8:01), 2 (7:48), 3 (7:42), 4 (7:54), 5 (7:54).  The consistency during this first section was a good sign.

Miles 6-10: We continued north and I ran a couple miles with a runner who was training for the Columbus Marathon in October.  She was aiming for 8:00 miles so we chatted for a bit.  The Africa Road portion was definitely a net uphill.  I was still feeling good and would soon speed up.  I hadn't run more than seven miles in a single run since the Capital City Half Marathon, so I wasn't sure if I could keep a strong pace or not.  I made my move just shy of mile 7, as we headed west over a cool bridge over the lake.  I passed 4-5 people during this section of the course and knew I was holding my own.  We finished the bridge and headed south on Old State Road at about the 8 1/2 mile mark.  This final portion of the race was definitely a net downhill.  The grade was never too noticeable, but my pace was great.  I started pacing a much younger runner who had a strong pace.  We went back and forth for the duration and I was feeling really good about my splits.  Here are miles 6-10: 6 (7:56), 7 (7:30), 8 (7:17), 9 (7:26), 10 (7:13).  While I sped up considerably, there was still some consistency to these splits.

Miles 11-13.1: The course continued at a very slight downhill.  There's not much to say about the scenery.  The lake was too far away and the most exciting thing was that the trees were shading us the whole way.  My fellow runner and I kept going back and forth until we entered the parking lot for a final loop.  I finally passed him and I knew I had a solid time.  Here are the final splits: 11 (7:10), 12 (7:12), 13 (6:48).  I hit the finish line in a surprising time of 1:38:41, good enough for 25th overall!  I was pretty shocked with this time considering my focus had not been on the half at all this summer.

For once, I'm not at all sure what the next race will be.  I'm looking at a couple on Labor Day weekend but we will see.

Plymouth Fireman's Festival 10k

On to my 10k for 2017.  I tend to do one 10k each year as a change of pace, though I've never felt very comfortable at this distance.  The 5k is short enough to not require much thinking and the half marathon pace is something I feel confident about.  But the 10k is just an awkward one for me.  The last one I ran (Maui) went downhill for me in a hurry as I started out too fast.

This race was very, very small.  There were only nine of us in the 10k and twenty-five in the 5k.  That's small.  The course was pretty simple as we started in the center of town, made a semi-circle going north to west, west on Baseline Rd., south on a county road, and then back.  I was very surprised with the course.  It was a lot hillier than I expected from the Plymouth area.

We started out through town and the two top runners went out at a ridiculous pace.  I came out too fast as we made our way to Baseline Road and had to slow down.  The first mile was in 6:29 and the second in 6:48.  That's way too fast for me, though I started out in third place and was able to maintain.

After the first long straightaway, we headed south for another one.  The hills here were surprising.  Nothing awful, but they were enough to hurt after the fast start.  My third mile came up to 7:26.  That's better.  We turned around and headed right back the way we came.  The second place runner was well ahead of me and the fourth was well behind.  I do find these quiet pockets in races.  My pace was more consistent as we went, too.  The fourth mile came in at 7:12 and the fifth in 7:35.  We headed back towards town and I was really feeling this race.  Again, I looked around and there was no one near me.

Finally, we made our way back to town and went around the west side.  This included one nice downhill at which I gained a few seconds.  Another downhill into the finish gave me a new 10k PR of 44:06!  That takes off almost a minute and a half from my previous PR, set in 2013, and gives me my second new PR of the year.

Up next is a new half marathon for me.

Next race: Columbus Half Marathon- Delaware, OH