Despite advice to the contrary, I decided to run the Columbus half! I knew a bunch of people running it and thought it'd be a good final exam for Boston! I had no intention on running it hard and thought I'd get to 90 minutes and then basicaly walk it in from there (a little light jogging, also!). It was a breezy day with the temps pretty good for running! No real problems during the race and I hit the 90 minute mark at about 8.5 miles. From there I used my watch to guide my pace and basically dialed the time. I crossed the finish line pretty much exactly where I was the week before and felt great! In fact, I went to see a movie that afternoon (The Bank Job. Excellent flick!!).
...my 28th half marathon is in the books! Time to focus for Boston!!! I'll write about that at length to share all my experiences!!!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Go! St. Louis Half Marathon!
After the Around the Bay it was time to taper so I thought I'd go to St. Louis and run a half. I had a plan! I was going to run the first 7 or so miles then ease off until the finish! It was a cool morning and pretty much perfect for running! I started with Julie (yeah, the one that made me drink too much the previous weekend. REAL COOL!! haha!!) and ran the first .2 with her. She ran the marathon (3:55 that day. Great job!!) and I knew if I tried to hang with her, I'd probably make it about 3 or 4 miles then pass out! Despite feeling great, I ran conservatively until I hit mile 7 then eased off doing a little run/walk thing for much of the next 5 miles. The course was hilly and I decided at 12 I was going to finish a little stronger than normal so I picked it up a little and according to my garmin, I hit the tape with a 6:51 pace (at that instant and not for the entire race).
The cool thing about the race was the Columbus contingent was present and a local woman won the women's portion of the Marathon in 3 hours and change. I saw her and her three friends at the airport on the way home (all 4 in the top 15!!)! Great job!
oh, and add another IHOP to the mix! There's one right by the airport and who can pass up flapjacks after a race!!
...next up, Columbus Distance Classic!!
The cool thing about the race was the Columbus contingent was present and a local woman won the women's portion of the Marathon in 3 hours and change. I saw her and her three friends at the airport on the way home (all 4 in the top 15!!)! Great job!
oh, and add another IHOP to the mix! There's one right by the airport and who can pass up flapjacks after a race!!
...next up, Columbus Distance Classic!!
Around the Bay 30k
This race is the granddaddy of them all! No, it's not the Rose Bowl but it is the oldest road race in North America and was my first international race!
The weekend should actually start on Friday night when my friend Julie and I went to a CBJ game! Julie forced me to drink more than I should have (well...not really but I need to blame someone for my misfortunes on race day and it's certainly not MY fault...haha!). Keep in mind I didn't really drink a ton but when you don't typically drink, 4 or 5 beers has an impact! Real cool, Julie...haha
I got up early on Saturday and drove the 7 hours to Hamilton, ON! I hit the expo at The Copps Center about 2 hours before it was over. I was a little sluggish so I went for a short walk around downtown Hamilton before getting back to the hotel. Dinner was bland pasta and I was hoping I'd be ready for the run!
The race literally runs around a bay (hence the name, huh!!) and the first 15k is flat and pretty boring. I wasn't setting the world on fire with my pace but I was pretty consistent through at least the first 7 (according to my garmin). I slowed a little for the next 3-4 miles but was still at an ok place. Then the hills came! Those #$@#)*(@)!!! They started small but from 10-18 they were very rolling and increasingly steeper! The last one was 1k (about .6 miles) in length and at some point, I wasn't sure if I was going to get up it!! Finally I hit the finish line inside Copps Stadium. They made this finish to be a pretty big deal but it was just a little better than finishing inside the Fairgrounds Coliseum! Plus there was a guy who finished right in front of me playing airplane as he hit the line. I'm glad he had all that extra energy!!!
Thanks to the Hamilton YMCA for the use of the post race shower facilities! They allowed me free use and I greatly appreciate it! I was dreading the 7 hour ride home without showering!!
..another 30k out of the way! The hard training is over. St. Louis, Columbus and thenBoston!!!
until next time!!
The weekend should actually start on Friday night when my friend Julie and I went to a CBJ game! Julie forced me to drink more than I should have (well...not really but I need to blame someone for my misfortunes on race day and it's certainly not MY fault...haha!). Keep in mind I didn't really drink a ton but when you don't typically drink, 4 or 5 beers has an impact! Real cool, Julie...haha
I got up early on Saturday and drove the 7 hours to Hamilton, ON! I hit the expo at The Copps Center about 2 hours before it was over. I was a little sluggish so I went for a short walk around downtown Hamilton before getting back to the hotel. Dinner was bland pasta and I was hoping I'd be ready for the run!
The race literally runs around a bay (hence the name, huh!!) and the first 15k is flat and pretty boring. I wasn't setting the world on fire with my pace but I was pretty consistent through at least the first 7 (according to my garmin). I slowed a little for the next 3-4 miles but was still at an ok place. Then the hills came! Those #$@#)*(@)!!! They started small but from 10-18 they were very rolling and increasingly steeper! The last one was 1k (about .6 miles) in length and at some point, I wasn't sure if I was going to get up it!! Finally I hit the finish line inside Copps Stadium. They made this finish to be a pretty big deal but it was just a little better than finishing inside the Fairgrounds Coliseum! Plus there was a guy who finished right in front of me playing airplane as he hit the line. I'm glad he had all that extra energy!!!
Thanks to the Hamilton YMCA for the use of the post race shower facilities! They allowed me free use and I greatly appreciate it! I was dreading the 7 hour ride home without showering!!
..another 30k out of the way! The hard training is over. St. Louis, Columbus and then
until next time!!
Ft. Wayne 20k (March 23)- just like the Columbus Winter Run!
March 23-Fort Wayne 20k-
Believe it or not, Jim Miller and I drove over the morning of (race was at 11) and were greeted to snow! It was in the 20's with a little wind! We joked about how we thought we were done with the snow for the next six or so months! The race started with 100-150 entrants doing either the 5 miler or 20k. It was very rolling for the first few miles and I could tell very early I hadn't fully recovered from the marathon of the previous week! By the 4 mle mark I was all alone with people getting smaller and smaller in the distance(despite my 10:20 per mile pace even). Just past 10k we did a turn around and for some reason I completely lost focus! I think it had something to do with the snow, solitude and general lousy feeling I'd had since I woke up! Fortunately there was one guy behind me (way behind me) and I knew I needed to keep pushing. By mile 8 I started catching some dude and right before 9 he looked back and sped up a little. What was interesting is I was probably 30 seconds behind him and right at the 10 mile mark, he jumped in a car and left. So much for catching him!! I trudged forward completely alone! I finished in about 2:20 but I was really glad just to be done! Jim and I stopped at an IHOP on the way home and were able to warm up just a little! I never thought we'd make it home but fortunately we finally did!!!
Note to self: Don't run a 20k 6 days after a marathon. You'd think I'd be smarter than that but then again, I really don't ask for directions when I'm lost so what would anyone expect!!!
Keep running!!!
Believe it or not, Jim Miller and I drove over the morning of (race was at 11) and were greeted to snow! It was in the 20's with a little wind! We joked about how we thought we were done with the snow for the next six or so months! The race started with 100-150 entrants doing either the 5 miler or 20k. It was very rolling for the first few miles and I could tell very early I hadn't fully recovered from the marathon of the previous week! By the 4 mle mark I was all alone with people getting smaller and smaller in the distance(despite my 10:20 per mile pace even). Just past 10k we did a turn around and for some reason I completely lost focus! I think it had something to do with the snow, solitude and general lousy feeling I'd had since I woke up! Fortunately there was one guy behind me (way behind me) and I knew I needed to keep pushing. By mile 8 I started catching some dude and right before 9 he looked back and sped up a little. What was interesting is I was probably 30 seconds behind him and right at the 10 mile mark, he jumped in a car and left. So much for catching him!! I trudged forward completely alone! I finished in about 2:20 but I was really glad just to be done! Jim and I stopped at an IHOP on the way home and were able to warm up just a little! I never thought we'd make it home but fortunately we finally did!!!
Note to self: Don't run a 20k 6 days after a marathon. You'd think I'd be smarter than that but then again, I really don't ask for directions when I'm lost so what would anyone expect!!!
Keep running!!!
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