No Buts About It 5k

This will be a shorter post today since this was only a 5k.  I headed up to the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek for this 5k at 7:30 this morning.  Got there a little before 8:00 for easy packet pick up and to loosen up some before the 9:00 start.  The past week was beautiful for Ohio in March.  We had some nice days in the 50's and 60's which is ideal for me.  But, since it's Ohio, I knew it was too good to last.  And it did not last.  It was a brisk 26 degrees this morning with a decent wind added to the mix.  I don't say this often, but I really didn't want to get out of bed for this one.  Runners are a dedicated breed so I naturally ran anyway.

I went for a brief jog around the mall about a half hour before the start and could tell that this was going to be a rough one.  Let's just get it over with.  The start went better than I thought it would.  I started at a nice pace (not sure of my splits as there were no mile markers/clocks) and quickly realized that everyone was starting at a conservative pace.  I figured I was in about 20th place or so after the first mile.  The second mile was through a little neighborhood behind the mall.  This was where my lungs started to feel the cold air.  Plus there wasn't much to block the wind.  Not fun, but I think I kept a good time for the second mile.  The third mile looped back around where we came from.  I was little irritated by the huge mass of walkers who did cheer us on but also did not move out of the way.  I had to steer wide to miss them.  Oh well.

The finish was much stronger than I thought it would be and I passed three people before crossing the timing mat.  My time was much, much better than I thought it would be considering the weather conditions.  A solid 21:36 which is faster than my past four 5ks.  To add to the surprises, I placed 3rd in my age group and received a nice plaque!  Overall, I'm seeing that the recent speedwork has helped.  I have four tough weeks ahead with the ORRRC Half Marathon, Glass City Half Marathon and another 5k on the horizon.

Next race: Ohio River Road Runners Half Marathon- Xenia, OH

Last Chance for Boston Half Marathon

A look at the course

I decided to wait a week or so before posting my thoughts on this race.  It was quite interesting to say the least.  The course is a one mile loop through an industrial park in Dublin, Ohio.  This is simply a chance to just run without all the frills of a major race.

I arrived in Dublin on Saturday and went right in and out of the host hotel for packet pick up.  Easy as can be.  I was actually quite happy with the gray long sleeve tech shirt.  Not bad at all.  Then I walked back to the hotel I was staying in.  It's nice that there are four hotels right by the race, making race morning a piece of cake.  Some extra sleep and no drive to the starting line.  Sign me up!  A simple pasta dinner the night before and plenty of rest and I felt ready to go.

Race morning was much nicer temperature-wise that I was expecting.  As soon as I clicked the "Submit" button on the registration form I thought, "Uh-oh.  What have I done?"  It could easily be ten degrees on race morning, but it was actually near 40.  Nice.  I went outside the hotel for a nice warm-up jog with some other runners who wanted to check out the weather, too.  Relaxed in my room for another half hour and went out for the start.

The odd thing with this race is that the 5k and half start at 8:00 and the 10k and full start at 8:03, so there are four races running at the same time.  This was difficult for me as I never really settled into the pace I wanted.  The first split (the first .1 plus one mile) was 11:36.  Ugh.  Not good.  The next two splits were 10:00 and 9:54.  I wanted to run around 9:30 per mile for the first 8-9 miles.  Not a good start.  I averaged around 9:50 for the next four miles, so I quickly decided to just enjoy my sixth half marathon.  No chance at a great time.  And the fact that I desperately needed to use the porta john at mile 8 did not help.  I hit the 9:30s and low 9:00s for the remainder until hitting an 8:08 on the final mile.  Overall- 2:07.31.  I'm actually pretty happy with that time since I started so slow and made a rare pit stop mid-race.  I've never been much of a cold weather runner, so the fact that I can complete one this time of year is a huge improvement over previous years.

Postrace was nothing special.  The medal is like something you would get at a local 5k.  Think of the cheap medal with a sticker on it.  Plus it doesn't distinguish between the marathon and half marathon, which is a major no-no in my book.  The food was so-so.  Gatorade, water, bagels, and some fruit.  Eh.  The payoff is the race itself as the volunteers are great!  Hitting the aid station 13 times during the race is awesome and they were very supportive throughout.  The same goes for the spectators who, again, you see 13 times during the race.  All in all, I'm glad I did this one. 

Race swag

Next race: No Buts About It 5k at Beavercreek, OH

Melbourne & Beaches Music Half Marathon

Bill Rodgers

I decided to get out of the Midwest for a few days and run the Melbourne & Beaches Music Half Marathon in Florida.  Training for this race was very difficult as this was my first time trying to train through the winter.  I don't know how much you know about winter in Ohio, but it makes training outside almost impossible at times.  Hello indoor track!

Keith Brantly

I flew down to Melbourne the day before the race and was very surprised by the expo.  For a smaller race (about 1200 in the half) it was a very well done expo!  I didn't buy much besides a 13.1 key chain and various trail mix concoctions.  What made it for me was the opportunity to meet several USATF Hall of Famers!  I met and chatted with Zola Budd, Bill Rodgers and Keith Brantly.  Unfortunately, I couldn't stick around long enough to meet Frank Shorter.

After the expo, I headed down to Ft. Pierce as I was staying with friends down there.  It's about an hour drive down there, so I got to enjoy the sights of Florida (as opposed to Ohio).  I was up at about four the next morning and was surprisingly ready to go!  Felt even better after having some coffee and Try Chips during the drive to Melbourne for breakfast.  Getting to the race was a breeze as I found parking about two blocks from the start and the gear check, port-a-johns, and water were only minutes away.  And the weather was perfect!  At the start it was about 58 degrees and overcast with a light mist.  The weather needs to be like this for every race.  After going through my warm-ups it was finally race time!

I can't compare this race to any others in Florida, but I was very impressed.  The first five miles went quickly (though I found it strange that we had a quick left hand turn within 100 meters of the start) and was on very flat terrain.  We ran through some smaller communities and the crowd support was wonderful for a smaller race.  The congestion wasn't bad either, even though the marathoners and half-marathoners started together.

Now...there is one bad thing about the first five.  You can see the first of two bridge crosses in the distance during those first five.  These bridges are very steep and quite intimidating.  I noticed that I wasn't the only one stealing a glance at the bridge every so often.  We began our ascent right at mile 5.  I knew that if I just took it easy, I would be fine.  The crossing felt like it took forever, but everyone made it and began the descent, which I also took very easy.  I did see a few people flying down the other side.  They probably paid for that later on.

Miles 7-11 were very uneventful.  The course support was great, but it was one long straightaway with little view of the water.  These are the important miles where I either shut out the pain by paying attention to the music from my iPod, or I'm aware of every mile.  Despite my training being very so-so, I was able to get lost in the music.  Arcade Fire, the New Pornographers and the Pixies were able to get me through this race.

At mile 11 we had the second bridge crossing.  I stopped at the aid station here for a quick Gatorade and started this second crossing.  This one was of course rougher than the first, but still not bad.  Great views of the water definitely helped.  After that it was a quick jaunt through town and to the finish.  I admit, I played to the crowd during the last few hundred meters.  I just ran 13 miles, so I'm having some fun.

Final time- 2:01.11

I was pretty happy with this time.  Especially since I had a minimal amount of training and this was my first longer race since the Spinx Run Fest Marathon in October.  The post race party was a blast as there was plenty of food and drinks available.  The atmosphere was phenomenal!

Next up: Last Chance for Boston Half Marathon in Dublin, OH on Feb. 27.