This race is really where it all started back in 2004. I had run some 5Ks and even a 5. Mile. Race. the year before, but this was the first race I'd consider an endurance race. And it was hard, but I finished. Didn't quite break the 2 hour goal I was shooting for, but I did a respectable 2:02:43.
Seven (!) years later, I was back, toeing the line not just to finish, but to culminate four months of training. And not just training the way I've done for running races in the past, but applying everything I've learned over the last two seasons of Ironman. I'd lost 20 pounds in preparation for it, followed my training plan about as nearly to perfection as I could hope for, and mentally prepared myself for a couple hours of suffering for a goal. Thankfully, race day dawned with a forecast for 50s and no rain, which was a far cry from the week before. Meredith and I met up with Colleen and Tom in the first corral, and...
Wait a sec, the first corral? Yep. Through what HAD to be some clerical oversight, little old me was in the first corral. Crazy.
...anyway, we said our "good luck"s and I wandered over to join the 1:45 pace group for the start. That was my plan. Get into the group and stick like glue for as long as possible. My training plan said 1:46 was my goal, but 1:45 sounded like it just might be doable on a good day. With the gun, we were off on a tour of Columbus. I decided to wear my iPod and have some low-level background music for a change, so without further ado, a sampling of what I heard and saw:
Miles 1-4: Wanted Dead or Alive
What a great song to start out on an adventure! As we headed out west from downtown through some industrial areas, I took stock of how I was feeling. A little humid, and actually a little warmer than I thought I'd be. The gloves I thought I'd need were in my pockets by mile 2. My pace group was doing a great job of keeping even through the sometimes uneven start of a big race, and I was happy to just find a little running room and stick there. Sure, I took (and gave) a few elbows and steps on heels, but overall it wasn't too bad. We curved up onto Olentangy River Road, through a few little dips and climbs, and headed up toward campus. My fears of not being able to come out of the gates at an 8:00/mile pace were dissolved as I found myself holding it pretty effortlessly.
Miles 5-6: Pinch Me
Wow. Not really what I expected...usually this would be about where I start thinking about how far it is to go. Instead, everything was going really smoothly. That is, until I hit the water stop around mile 5 coming up Lane Avenue. They looked pretty understaffed, and what was a flow of runners quickly became a logjam as we all tried to get hydrated. I finally did manage to grab a cup, but when I looked up, I was a good 10 seconds back of my pace leaders. Visions of the 2007 Columbus Marathon flashed before my eyes, as this was about where my pace group pulled away from me. Not willing to have it happen again, I thought of the old triathlon analogy of a book of matches. You only have so many to burn during a race, and it's all about when to spend them. I decided this was one of those times, and visualized myself striking one as I sped up to catch the group. It took maybe a quarter mile, but I was back with them, one match lighter.
Miles 7-8: Hang On Sloopy
Err...I mean, Hang On Sloopy
These miles were very entertaining, as we headed down High Street. If you're not familiar with Columbus, High is sort of the backbone of the city, and it's where almost all the shops, bars, and restaurants are on the OSU campus. As we passed building after building, I was reminiscing and noticing which storefronts were new, and which were still there 10 years later. The nice thing about this year's course is that we got to run the "downhill" direction. It's not a hill in the traditional sense, but it's a looooong gradual incline going the other way. After the impromptu speedwork on Lane, it was nice to settle back into a rhythm and ease back to the target pace. This was also where the quarter marathon rejoined the course, so there was a little bit of bobbing and weaving as we ran through some of the slower runners there. And suddenly, I heard a "Hey!" to my left, and who was there but my lovely wife!
Miles 9-12: 4'33"
Hearing a good song come on right as she caught me, I put the iPod on pause to save it for later. The next thing I noticed was that Meredith was running a little faster than me. I had mentally prepared to break from the pace group around mile 10 if I was feeling good. This was a mile early, but I wasn't just feeling good, I was still feeling effortless. It was time to see what I had. So, I joined Meredith's pace around a 7:50, and we began pulling away from the group. This section was pretty lonely, so I was glad for the company, even if there were a few unintentional elbows thrown (her), and very intentional hand signal demonstrations of how to run a tangent (me). She was having an issue with a stitch, and for the first time I was working harder, so there wasn't much conversation. Somehow, it makes it easier just to be running with someone, though, and this was one of the first races in which we've ever gotten to run together. Fun times. Just before mile 12, there was one of the steeper little uphills of the course, and Meredith fell back just a bit. She told me to go ahead, and so I climbed the hill fairly hard. As I reached the top and the 12 mile marker, I took out the rest of my matches and set them ablaze.
Mile 13: Jump
You can hardly blame me for saving that one till the end, right? I broke the remaining mile down into 400s and thought of all the times I've been around the track this spring. I probably passed fifty people in that last mile, as I gave everything I had left. (And hit rewind one time) It was a far cry from the final mile in 2004, when I just wanted to be done. I guess I wanted to be done this time too, but I was doing it on my terms. One short painful climb left, and we were turning down toward the finish line. I ended up running the last mile somewhere around a 7:04 pace! When I saw the clock, I knew it was good news, and I crossed the finish line with a big new PR. I hardly had time to get my medal before Meredith was with me, and we both celebrated our way out of the chute.
Time: 1:43:42 (7:55/mile)
Place: 436/2466 male, 552/5952 overall, 95/414 age group
