It occurred to me yesterday, TWO WEEKS AFTER THE RACE, that I haven't done my race recap! We'll just blame it on mommy brain.
In all my years of running and racing, this was my FIRST 15k! I've been battling this Hamstring/Piriformis injury all season so I had no real expectation for my time. Based on how my legs had been feeling, I thought running in the 8s was reasonable. With that being said, I wanted to average better than my previous half marathon splits so I wanted to be in the low 8s.
Well, low 8s didn't happen BUT mid 8s did :) I really can't complain about that considering my legs felt AWFUL!
Jackie and I learned from our mistakes during the Columbus Half and decided to ride to the race together. We got there super early and it was so cold!!! BUT, the plus side is that the port-o-potties were unused, very clean, and we got to be the first to stink them up :)
It blew me away how many corrals they had at this race. I think it was something like A though M (most races I've done are A through D). We were in C so the wait wasn't too bad. I remember the start being so congested that you couldn't pass people. Once the course widened and people were passed, I realized I was having an awful time trying to breathe in the cold air. I also realized that I ran WAY TO FAST trying to pass people that my leg was already starting to bother me. Ugh. I think I ran with Jackie about 2 miles when I told her to go ahead and leave me. I knew I couldn't hold that pace with my leg giving me fits.
I was initially bummed about my pain but, when I slowed down a bit, I realized I would take advantage of the scenery and just enjoy it. I was hurting pretty bad by 4 miles but I knew I had to keep my spirits up. I really enjoyed running up High Street through Short North and OSU campus. I even stopped to take some pics!
Although the scenery was enjoyable and the crowd was awesome and supportive, I wanted to punch one guy. He was at the corner of some street as we were rounding campus yelling "It's all down hill from here!" I thought, "SWEET! I won't have to deal with any more hills!" I'm not sure what he was smoking but, just after he said that and we rounded the corner, there was a big ole hill! There were about 5 others around me cursing the guy under their breath!
The last part of the race seemed like it took forever! I'm pretty sure my leg would have fallen off if I had to do any more. I was so happy to be finished so that I could enjoy my hot chocolate :) My fast friend, Jackie, and I stuck around to enjoy the festivities for a few but it was so stinkin' cold that we wanted to leave. BONUS: her car has heated seats and it felt SO AMAZING!
Overall, the course was awesome minus the congestion at the beginning and the hills (which I don't mind so much when my legs are healthy). If it wasn't so cold I would have enjoyed the after party a little more. The thing I didn't like is that there was an expo to pick up packets and I had to pay $10 to park in order to get into the Convention Center.
Next race: The Santa Race 5k in Gahanna, Ohio on December 6th!
P.S. This review/recap would be so much better if I had written it 2 weeks ago! Lesson learned.
Jackie and I learned from our mistakes during the Columbus Half and decided to ride to the race together. We got there super early and it was so cold!!! BUT, the plus side is that the port-o-potties were unused, very clean, and we got to be the first to stink them up :)
Waiting to start!
It blew me away how many corrals they had at this race. I think it was something like A though M (most races I've done are A through D). We were in C so the wait wasn't too bad. I remember the start being so congested that you couldn't pass people. Once the course widened and people were passed, I realized I was having an awful time trying to breathe in the cold air. I also realized that I ran WAY TO FAST trying to pass people that my leg was already starting to bother me. Ugh. I think I ran with Jackie about 2 miles when I told her to go ahead and leave me. I knew I couldn't hold that pace with my leg giving me fits.
I was initially bummed about my pain but, when I slowed down a bit, I realized I would take advantage of the scenery and just enjoy it. I was hurting pretty bad by 4 miles but I knew I had to keep my spirits up. I really enjoyed running up High Street through Short North and OSU campus. I even stopped to take some pics!
Although the scenery was enjoyable and the crowd was awesome and supportive, I wanted to punch one guy. He was at the corner of some street as we were rounding campus yelling "It's all down hill from here!" I thought, "SWEET! I won't have to deal with any more hills!" I'm not sure what he was smoking but, just after he said that and we rounded the corner, there was a big ole hill! There were about 5 others around me cursing the guy under their breath!
The last part of the race seemed like it took forever! I'm pretty sure my leg would have fallen off if I had to do any more. I was so happy to be finished so that I could enjoy my hot chocolate :) My fast friend, Jackie, and I stuck around to enjoy the festivities for a few but it was so stinkin' cold that we wanted to leave. BONUS: her car has heated seats and it felt SO AMAZING!
Overall, the course was awesome minus the congestion at the beginning and the hills (which I don't mind so much when my legs are healthy). If it wasn't so cold I would have enjoyed the after party a little more. The thing I didn't like is that there was an expo to pick up packets and I had to pay $10 to park in order to get into the Convention Center.
Next race: The Santa Race 5k in Gahanna, Ohio on December 6th!
P.S. This review/recap would be so much better if I had written it 2 weeks ago! Lesson learned.
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