ORRRC Half Marathon

There are days when you just feel right. Everything clicks. Your body says, “it’s okay to leave it all out there today!” That was my Sunday . . .

I did next to nothing Saturday. Visited with some family as the Mrs. and I picked up the kids, and then drove back down towards Cincinnati. I made a simple, but effective linguine dinner, had one beer (for added worthless carbs), and took an nice soothing hot bath. Got the kids to bed and I did the same for myself. I better than I had expected and woke a tad (ok, three hours) early - but I quickly scurried back to bed until a more appropriate time.

Grabbed almost everything on the list (as I forgot my protein shake) and made it to Xenia about 40 minutes before the race would begin. I had eaten a small, but decent breakfast during the drive, had my coffee, and had switched to water - all was well so far. And after playing on my phone for a while I made my way to the start/finish area. It didn’t take long before I ran into someone I recognized. I had done that crazy trail run last September - the Broken Toes 27k - and met George, well, here he was again. We chatted for a few minutes before the race began, but he quickly left me in the dust!

The course was rather unique. The first few miles are through calm neighborhoods on streets. We passed a park I had seen from one view all my life, but now I could see it from a different perspective; not bad! A few more twists and turns and some slow, long, gradual inclines (more inclines than I would have thought) and the course turns onto the bike/run/walk path. This paved track goes the length (north/south) of the state of Ohio, and I managed to run only a short bit of it Sunday morning, but it was very scenic and pretty darn fun to run. I met some new people, chatted here and there, but for the most part I stayed focused on my pace.

Something different about this race for me. I didn’t use any of my running apps, I didn’t use the iPod feature on the iPhone, I just ran with the thoughts in my head and those that were shared with me through new friends. I have to admit, going this route had me worried prior, but excited about what I did after. If I felt I was getting off pace, I simply played one of three songs in my head to get me back on track.

I hit the mile 6 mark just over 52 minutes, so I knew I would be in good shape. Shortly after that I met up with another runner (name escapes me) and we talked for just over a mile. As we hit the turning spot I took a short walk break and he continued onward with his pace. Yes, I said walk break. I think I took one about every mile and a half starting around mile 3, usually at the water/gatorade stations. This was my plan to begin with, and it really helped me stay on track. The walk breaks brought the heart rate down a bit, rested the legs a touch, and provided a mental break from keeping pace - and it helped with recovery afterwards too.

One thing I started to notice after the turn around was how many people there were behind me. Some were runners some were walkers, but there were quite a few. I didn’t really look to see just how many people were lined up at the start, but I have a feeling the number was near 1,000 - much larger than I had expected for a race like this one. But there they were, behind ME! I knew my training had gone well, but this truly helped give me a confidence boost in the last 4 - 5 miles. I saw a few people I knew from dailymile, but they looked more focused than I was, so I said hello to them in my head. Sorry if you didn’t hear me!

I started paying attention to the mile markers painted in bright orange on the ground. There they were, both half and full marathon markers, separated by one tenth of a mile. Mile 10 had a smiley face in the zero. I knew I only had a 5k left, or, less than 30 minutes to go! When I saw the turn off of the bike path back onto the streets, I knew I was almost done. Mile 26 marker! That means I only have two tenths of a mile left - barely more than two blocks! I heard footsteps creeping up behind me, but I wasn’t about to let anyone pass me at this point! I dug deep to see what I had left in the tank - not much, but enough to keep three people from reaching the finish line before me. As I approached and then crossed the finish it read 1:57:05 - I couldn’t have been more excited! My goals were to finish, finish without injury, under two hours, and as close to 1:55:00 as possible. I had met my goals!

I caught up with George after, he posted a 1:31:00! The fella I ran with around the turn came in about two minutes before me. I wanted to stick around to cheer on other dailymilers, but I also had another 13 to deal with - my oldest son’s 13th birthday party! What a morning, what a race, what an end to some great training!

So I picked up my best half marathon time by more than eight minutes, got another shiny medal, and another race shirt. I had given just about all I had to give and left it on the course. I was happy and proud of my accomplishment. I am hoping to do this run again next year as it was not just a race to get something from, but it was a great course packed with some great people. If you’re looking for an early spring race (half or full), you should come to Ohio and join the Ohio River Road Runners for this annual race. It’s worth the time, money and effort for sure!