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Comments: This race had added spots for the half and for the full, and they had managed to sell out this year, so I knew that the first 10k would be very crowded. I decided to just relax, use the first mile for warmup (I think I did that one around a 10:00 pace?) and then just see how I went. It was very tightly packed as we went down High St, but worse when we started getting into the neighborhoods and the streets narrowed. Overall, I'd say that the spirit was high, it was nice. The spectators were really enthusiastic! The first 10k was pretty uneventful, I skipped the first three water stations because I didn't feel thirsty. Around the 10k mark, I took my first gel and had some water. I knew from the gun clock that I was around an hour for the 10k, which was pretty good. I was still feeling strong and consistent, just the way I wanted to feel. The miles between 10k and the half just peeled away, it felt like as soon as we passed a mile marker, the other one was right there. It was a nice feeling. We passed the finish for the half, and headed down into the Short North. It was pretty quiet there, as we'd just drastically cut our numbers. I picked up a friend around mile 15, and she and I hung together through Ohio State campus until about mile 18, where the pain in my hip flexors forced me to stop and stretch in a rest station. I was feeling OK energy wise and stomach wise, just that my legs were sore and tired. Miles 18-22 are in a not-so-scenic part of the OSU campus, and there isn't much (any) support in these areas, so it's pretty tough. But at mile 20, there is a big "BREAK THROUGH THE WALL!" gate where they announce you and there's a nice crowd gathered there. Believe it or not, pushing through there actually did help me continue, it was like the wall wasn't there. I promised myself a walk break around mile 21, but when mile 21 came, I didn't need it (uhh, ok). So I soldiered on through until mile 22. At the aid station between 22 and 23, I walked through to take a gel and some water, stretched a tiny bit and kept going. The strategy was to just pull back to form basics and get it done. I was feeling good energy wise still, but again the legs were hurting. I was also starting to get nervous because I hadn't seen Pat. He started before me, but we're pretty even on pace, I was hoping that I'd see him, even if we didn't run together. I was hammering through, slowly but consistently, still running, and then, at the mile 24 banner, THERE HE WAS!! I yelled his name but he didn't hear it. So I ran up behind him and grabbed his behind (it's ok, we're married!) He looked a little yellow, and he said that he'd been having stomach issues. I told him he was on pace to beat his time by almost a whole hour, that he just had to suffer the last two miles. We ran sort of together for a bit, I kept looking back over my shoulder for him, and he finally waved me on. I was getting my second wind, so his permission made me feel ok. I decided that with two miles to go, I was going to get my PR or else. I decided to make it hurt. I picked up two runners who had garmins and asked what pace they were on, and they said about a 8:50 pace. So I figured if I could stay with them or ahead of them, I'd at least PR. At the 1/2 mile banner (which I mistook for a 26 mile banner and therefore having .2 of a mile to go) I started to really turn it on. But the pace I started at was unsustainable, so I had to pull back. Finally we were cresting the hill, and the crowd was CRAZY and close. So I decided that I was going to bomb it down the hill and just finish with nothing left. I could see the gun clock in the distance, and I saw that it was still under 4:30. I had done it. I had beaten my PR, and I had broken 4:30. I crossed the line with a huge smile, realizing that I had just PR'd by 13 minutes. I felt awesome, and I almost cried. I kicked it around in the finish chute for a minute or two, hoping to see Pat, and there he was! I gave him a (stinky) hug, and we took pictures together and then went to stretch and relax. We had both had an awesome race. What would you do differently?: Do more long runs.  Post race
Warm down: We ate, stretched, and then walked back to the car. I beat last year's time in this race by 22 minutes, and my PR by 13 minutes. Pat beat last year's time by 45ish minutes, so this was his PR (he finished in 4:26 and some change). What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of long runs, hip muscle problems. Event comments: I love this race. The corrals seem to be more efficient this year than last year. Last updated: 2011-10-05 12:00 AM
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United States
The Athletic Club of Columbus
60F / 16C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 2776/4743
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 182/387
Pat and I drove down to Columbus on Saturday morning and had lunch with my roommate from college. We drove down to the convention center and got our packets and walked around a bit at the expo, but it was crazy and so was the arena district so we decamped back to the suburbs. We killed a few hours watching TV, then went up to my college to have dinner at my favorite pasta place. In true wet blanket fashion, we were exhausted by 7:30 pm, laid out our clothes for the morning, set six alarms, and went to bed.
We got up at 4:30, had breakfast and coffee, peed a million times, and then headed to Columbus. We ended up getting there around 6 AM, right on time, and ditched the Fit into a garage (cheers, Free parking!).
Since we had parked near the start line, we had just a little walk to the start. We followed rule #14 about using a Port-a-Loo when you see it, then stood together chatting and freezing because the breeze was so strong. Pat was nervous, as he had some GI issues in last years race. I was nervous because I hadn't been able to put in a 22 miler between OKC Marathon and this marathon. And I also realized that I had done something stupid...I brought and charged my Garmin...but didn't put it on that morning. DOH! So I had no way to know my pace or my overall time. I was going to be running blind.
We were also in different corrals, with Pat being ahead of me. I settled into my corral, somewhere near the 4:15 and 4:30 pacers, but I knew that I wasn't going to pace with them. The countdown came and off we went!