2014 Towpath Half Marathon

“A” 1:26

“B” 1:27

“C” 1:29

     I decided to enter the Towpath half after I set my half marathon pr during the Erie full (1:30:53). The Columbus half was out since it had sold out a week or so before and I was nowhere near fast enough to apply for elite entry. I had recovered from Erie really well and even set a road 5k pr of 19:11 during a workout. So I shelled out the $70 and did a few workouts that would give me an idea of what time to shoot for. I had two tempo runs: a hilly 4.5 at 6:36 pace and a mostly flat 4.5 at 6:26 pace. I also did a mile repeat workout on flat gravel path with an average pace well under 6:00.

     I car-pooled to the race with my Second Sole co-worker, Mike and his dad. The parking was a little hairy for this event and we got there about 40 minutes before the start. It was cold enough at 38 degrees that I needed at least 20 minutes to warm up. My toes were numb before the start, which means it was colder than I like it for racing. I felt a little heavy-legged on my warm-up, but decided not to worry about it. My workouts had been good and a pr was basically assured. There were some fast-looking women at the starting line. I recognized a couple, including Marisa, the winner in last year’s 10k. I realized I was going to be going out a lot faster for this half than I did for the 10k last year! Just like last year, the porta lines were too long and I had to do a couple of quick pees in the woods. I can’t stand running with a full bladder, so a pre-race pee is always essential.

Mile 1: (6:04) Downhill and too fast. I felt like it was a little fast, but nothing serious going on with my heart rate or breathing and I was able to talk with Dave and Marisa during this mile. I confirmed that Marisa was in the 10k and not the half. She commented that I was way ahead of pace and then my watch beeped a 6:04. No I was not planning on running a sub 1:20!

Mile 2: (6:33) I slowed down just a little too much in this mile as we headed down towards the towpath. A few 10k guys passed me and then went crazy when they saw I was in the half. This was pretty encouraging.

Mile 3: (6:24) During this mile I caught Clinton, or he caught me, I can’t remember which and he pretty much settled into my pace. He seemed to be running a bit easier than I was and said his goal pace was 6:40. I commented that I would be okay with 6:40 average, but we were way ahead of that now.

4: (6:28) and mile 5: 6:26 Best feeling miles of the race. I had recovered from the 6:04 and basically felt like I was cruising along at a moderate effort. I had to hold back a bit from going down into the lower 6s. There were many miles left and with no women in sight, there was no reason to go crazy.

Mile 6: (6:32) Had an awkward water station around this time that threw off my rhythm but just a few seconds slower. I have gotten pretty good at water stations and can keep moving at nearly the same speed through them. Have to time the grab just so. 

Mile 7: (6:29) Set a 10k pr this mile of 39:48. Still felt really smooth and still talking a little with Clinton, who seemed just as smooth as when we started pacing together. I would tell him the mile time every time it beeped.

Mile 8: (6:31) Saw Mike and all the leading men come back past us after the turnaround. It was a boost to know we would be turning around soon, but I knew the hard miles were coming up. I took a gu at the turnaround and it did not settle well. There were three women quite close behind me, but not close enough to cause me concern.

                                                   Aid station in pre-water cup grab mode.

Mile 9: (6:24) I was feeling pretty tired this mile and had a few negative thoughts about slowing down, but I was happy with the mile split of 6:24 and knew I’d be setting another pr once I went through the 10 mile.

Mile 10: (6:33) New 10 mile pr of 1:04:10! Clinton was getting tired this mile, but he still went ahead and let me get dragged behind on his heels. My favorite thing to do when I am tired. Super crowded as we were passing the people on their way to the turnaround. The people were so nice and kept shouting that I was the lead female. I waved and smiled a few times, but I was in deep concentration at this point and starting to really hurt.  

Mile 11: (6:30) Toughest mile. The song started in my head. It was a sucky song that I am completely over, so it didn’t even help. I tried to relax my face and just keep my stride as smooth as possible.

Mile 12: (6:27) I looked down and knew there was only 1:17 on the clock, but it did not register how much far ahead of pace I was. I just wanted to be done.  

Mile 13: (6:31) Good thing this is a 13.1 mile race because I was shot. No way I could have held another 6:30 mile! The finish was so cool with all the people lined up cheering us in. I couldn’t kick because I was feeling pukey and didn’t want to risk throwing up. I just kept about the same pace into the finish and smiled. I couldn’t believe there was a 1:24:42 on the clock. I was so focused on keeping a steady pace every mile that I had not realized during the race that my finishing time would be a couple minutes under my “A” goal time. Pretty much deliriously happy with this race. By far the best race of my life. Clinton finished in 1:24:41, which is a 3 minute pr for him. We thanked each other quite a few times for the pacing help. He made the race a lot easier for me! Thank the running gods for speedy male running buddies, let me tell you! Mike had won for the men in 1:12:43. Going off of the results I can find, we both set course records. I’d say Second Sole Medina crushed the 2014 Towpath half.

                                          At the awards. Laugh lines and post-summer tan.

After the race I cooled down with Mike and then waited around for the awards with MCRR club buddies, Cynthia, Dave and Christy. The perks for winning were a $150 microsoft gift card and free entry to next year’s half.

With this half time my 5k predictor is 18:18 and my 10k predictor is 38:00, so I’ll be going after those next. I’ve met my half goal time for 2015 so I need to readjust those goals for sure. If I do a flat half before my full next year I will go after a 1:22-1:23. If I get that, I will go for a sub-1:20, but that is a long ways in the future at this point.