Columbus Half Marathon Race Report

I woke up around 2am on race morning and convinced myself that I wasn't going to race. I rolled over, went back to sleep and woke up at 4am, again deciding I shouldn't race. I laid there until 4:15 and then began my pre-race routine. I decided to just go out and have fun. As such, I thought I should line up with the 3:30 pace group and just run a comfortable 8:00 mile pace and maybe pick it up a little later in the race if I was feeling good and my piriformis wasn't protesting too much.

I drove downtown and met some friends at the cushy Capitol Club (thanks again to Jim for the invite and the accommodations), where we could stay warm, stretch, and most importantly, take advantage of the indoor plumbing. I informed everyone of my decision to take it easy and run at an easy pace so that I wouldn't further aggravate my piriformis injury.

On our way to the starting line, my friend Lisa, convinced me to line up with the 3:15 group. I told her I would start out running with her but after a couple of miles I would have to back off. So we lined up and before long we were off. We hit the first mile at 7:25, right on pace and I felt fine. Mile 2 was 7:23, cruising right along. After running mile 3 in 7:11 I decided to back off just a bit and Lisa went on ahead of me. I ran mile 4 at 7:25 and mile 5 at 7:20 and realized I was feeling pretty good.

During mile 6 I saw Lisa up ahead of me. Somehow, I had caught up to her again, and we resumed running together. Mile 6 was 7:12 pace. We must have been gabbing too much because we ran mile 7 and 8 inexplicably at 7:30 and 7:31. I was just running by feel, not paying attention to my splits since I was running for fun but Lisa had a very ambitious 3:15 time goal and so we picked up the pace. We ran mile 9 at 7:20 and mile 10 at 7:21. I was still feeling great and couldn't believe it. In my wildest dreams, I never expected my injury to hold up well enough for me to run at this pace for more than a couple of miles.

After 10 miles, I started doing the math in my head and realized that if I picked up the pace just a little bit, I would have a shot at a PR (personal record). Instead, I decided to leave well enough alone and not push my luck. We ran mile 11 in 7:23 and then Lisa pulled ahead of me along an uphill portion and I decided not to push it and fell back a bit. Mile 12 was 7:27.

For mile 13 I tried to pick it up a little and catch up to Lisa to wish her luck the rest of the way, since she was running the marathon and I was only running the 1/2 marathon. I got to within about 20 yards of her before it was time for me to turn left for the home stretch. Mile 13 was 7:09.

I was shocked when I turned left to head for the half marathon finish line and everyone around me kept going straight. There was one guy in front of me heading to the finish line. In the distance, I could see the clock, 1:35:XX. My PR is 1:36:11. I started sprinting for the finish line and pass the guy in front of me. I realize that the finish line is too far away and I'm not going to beat my PR but I'm committed at this point and I continue this mad sprint to the finish. The kid I passed kicks past me and I'm wondering if I have enough left to catch him. It's just the two of us sprinting for the finish. I glance up and see that we are on this giant jumbo-tron tv and I'm like, wow, that is so cool.

The kid outkicks me to the finish and I come in right behind him at 1:36:33, 22 seconds shy of a PR. But I'm not upset. This was a fun run and I totally smashed all expectations. I really thought that anything better than 1:40 was out of the question going into the race. Thanks to Lisa, for twisting my arm. Otherwise, I would have probably been content to run a 1:45 and not have enjoyed myself nearly as much.

It felt great to race again and to be able to run at a decent pace. Hopefully, I can shake this injury soon and get back to training hard and racing.

Lisa ran a 3:16:44, missing her goal by 45 seconds but setting a nearly 3 minute PR. Her husband Bill, ran a 3:46:34, and missed qualifying for Boston by 35 seconds. OUCH! But he is still celebrating a 15 minute PR! Awesome. Our friend Mark achieved his goal, qualifying for Boston with a 3:15. Overall, a great day for racing.