River Run Half Marathon 2007

After Sunday's race, I definitely say that I am on the right track. This was one of my best races to date. I felt very comfortable during pre-race warm-ups, there was no pressure on me to perform, the weather was great (raining and cool), and I was exited to run! The first three miles were run way too quickly, but I was exited and wanted to run with the best. My 5k split was just under 18:00. I knew I had to slow down a little, or I would never make it in under 1:25:00 (my goal). Right around mile three I started running with this older guy...I found out later that he was Lakewood's cross country coach. Even though he was running 6:15 miles...which was a little quicker than my goal pace, I kept with him. I stayed on his tail for the next 5 miles. During those miles we were able to grab two really strong runners (one being Mentor's cross country coach). And all five of us were together around mile 8. Then, out of nowhere, six guys running 6:10 miles caught us and passed quickly. I knew I couldn't run with them, so I dropped back. But my group of guys attacked... However, only one was able to stick with them. I ended up catching most of my original group. Then came mile 9.3...The only hill on the course. It was brutal! I haven’t been doing any hill work and this climb ended my strong race. After that hill, I was reduced to running about 6:45 miles. The last three miles were tough, but I finished strong. My time was 1:24:21 and I was 27th out of 700!!! 2nd in my age group. I was very happy with the run and received a great deal of confidence out of it. Even though my pace was 6:10 for the first 10 miles...I was reduced to 6:25 after bonking on the hill. That's okay though...I am going to keep training hard with the Columbus marathon in mind. Hopefully, I do well.... I always wanted to go to Boston!!!