I know I haven’t been that great about updating any of you who follow this on my running events this year and I’ll try to be better!! I decided to do a few races between Virginia Beach and London to see if I was getting more fit. Here are the recaps:
Athens (OH) Half Marathon:
I hadn’t done this race before but had heard good things from everyone who had so I thought I’d give it a try. The intent was to set a 3 ½ minute personal best (3:34 actually) and I really felt as if I could. A large group of us (Mostly Human Powered Racing members and me) drove down in the morning. It was a very clear day with temps in the 50’s. I’m guessing there were close to 800 people doing the half or full.
We just made the starting line right before the starting gun went off. It was chip timed but I should say the chip timing started with the gun so any offset to get to the start line counted in your official time. The course started with a big downhill, short uphill, another downhill then flat for 12 miles. It winds along the rails to trails between Athens and Nelsonville. I hit the first mile about 30 seconds faster than anticipated and decided it was largely due to the hills at the start. I settled in pretty quickly and while I was running a little over my head, I was determined to meet the goal. I hit the 5 mile mark right on goal and actually sped up a little for the next few miles. By mile 10 I was struggling a bit but kept pushing. I was about 30 seconds ahead of where I wanted to be but because it was far faster than I’d run the distance before, the wheels were wobbling a bit. At the 11 mile post I lost focus and slowed considerably. I was about 15 seconds behind goal pace by mile 12 but I had to stop and tie my shoe (a first in a race for me). While it wasn’t a lengthy stop (5 or so seconds) I just couldn’t get a good running rhythm going. A nice headwind didn’t help, either! I hit the track with 600 meters to go and knew I wasn’t going to hit the goal but knew if I pushed, it would still be a 2 ½ minute personal best! At 400 meters the HPR gang was waiting and giving me some support. I increased the pace and probably did the last 400 in a sub 8 minute pace (really fast for me!). I hit the tape with my garmin saying 2:11 flat (add 11 seconds to that for the “official chip time”). It’s interesting because I had just set a 153 second personal best in the half but I was disappointed because had I run just a bit smarter and been a little stronger mentally, I know I would have been sub 2:10. Oh well! Guess it means I can’t quit running yet!!! :haha!!
Dam Fool 4-miler
I did this race with no intention of running hard but more because it was a change of scenery and it fit with my running schedule that day. A windy day for sure with temps in the 30’s at the start made it chilly (well, that and I didn’t dress correctly). The plan was to make it a 39 minute run +/-. The first mile of this race is uphill and the rest is flat (across the dam) for about 2 miles then a steep downhill at the finish. I felt really good at the start and ran the uphill far faster than I should have! I eased off the gas and tried to get consistent. Miles 2 and 3 were very consistent despite stopping at the one water stop on the course (no idea why I even stopped!). I thought I’d ease it to the finish on the downhill but with about a half mile to go, I was passed by a woman and I decided there was no way she was going to beat me. Keep in mind I get beaten in races by tons of women so the fact it was a female means nothing. For some reason I got it in my head she wasn’t going to beat me. I dropped the hammer and ran the last half mile in about an 8:20 pace (well, that’s dropping the hammer for me, anyway…haha!!) and finished in yet another personal best. It was my 4th straight race with a PR. The even better news is the next day I was able to get both of my workouts in and felt great!
Next blog: The Flora London Marathon and London trip recap! Yes, I know it was two weeks ago! I’ll get to it…haha! Here’s to a great weekend of training and racing! Oh, and I thought I’d send a congrats to Jim and his 2nd place finish in the Pittsburgh Marathon! Great job!!
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