Olean rhymes with Goalie Man, not Joe Mean.   It's one of the larger small towns that dot the Southern Tier, Western New York's mostly rural swath south of Rochester and Buffalo (and also the region that boasts the excellent craft brewery of the same name.)  Today was the Olean Half Marathon, my third go at it.

Last year's race was graced with 60 degree sun.  This year's race was a bit less optimal, with 20 degree breezes and partial clouds.  A few flurries came and went on the hour-ish drive down, but by race time they had dispersed.

While trying to stay warm in the YMCA that served as race HQ, a friend pointed me out to Sean, a long-lost HS XC teammate.  He's been running times on par with mine for a while now, but our paths hadn't crossed until today.  After a brief chat, I told him that we'd definitely see each other on the course, exchanged well wishes, and went to jog out any butterflies accumulating from the caffeine-laced gel I had eaten.

The start was uneventful, but I still harbored doubts about my training over The Worst Winter In XX Years.  I got out front immediately and was matched by a young kid (who would undoubtedly fall off pace) and some footsteps behind.  No worries, this isn't a short race.  Nothing changed for the first two miles, hititng 6:00 splits for both.  Finally the kid wavered, and after a short bit more, Sean scooted up and we talked a bit more while running stride for stride.  Within another half mile, we were joined by Joe, an incredible runner in the 55-59 AG.  I joked that I wanted to be like Joe when I grow up, and we carried on in a tight group of 3 for quite some time.

The company was nice to make the time go by, knowing that a good strategy for the HM is to simply not think about it much.  At some point, Joe tried to surge, and I didn't let him go.  Instead, I re-surged as he returned to Earth.  Sean stayed with it, but Joe would ever-so-slowly fall away from us.  By the turnaround, it was a mirror of last year -- two lead guys seemingly out for a tempo run, giving and getting encouragement as we went back past the rest.

I made sure to pull off a glove at water stations to keep it dry, carefully sipping before jumping back on pace.  I continued to chat with Sean, learned that we'll be in the same corral at Boston, but sensed that by about 8 miles, he was just a couple strides back and maybe fatiguing faster than I was.  A moderate incline at about 8.5 sealed the deal -- I wordlessly opened a small gap, realizing that this was where last year's pace buddy Steve had said to go ahead.

And then it was just a matter of mentally running the Shamrock 8K again.  I felt really strong coming back into town, and without looking, I knew from listening for cues from volunteers that Sean wasn't in striking distance.  Sew it up, kick it back in to the Y, and that was it.  I congratulated Sean and Joe, hung out with them for a few minutes, cheered on a few more runners, and then scurried inside to change and warm up.

1:21:46, not a PR, but I now have a lot of confidence in being able to break 1:19 and qualify for NYCM at some point.  This race didn't hurt.  On a nicer day, without Boston looming large, I can go all-in and get it.  (And there was no sense in making today that day on an uncertified course.)  Also, this was my first repeat win, so I'm kind of over the moon about that.

Great race Jay!

What a great race and RR.  I enjoyed the perspective of the race from the lead dog.

  Is the Joe that finished behind you the same one that you could not beat there for awhile a couple years back?

Probably the same guy, I still can't beat him on trails. 

I thought Olean was that zero-calorie Crisco stuff.  That would be a cool race.  Or maybe not.

Nice job on a tempo-paced win.  Sounds like you're all set for a great run in Boston.

Great job, Jay!  I love reading your reports. 

So what'd ya win for swag?  Why do we have to ask for this information?

Olean=Oleanne. Is that it? I don't want to upset the good people of Western New York next time I'm there. 

Another awesome performance, Jay, bravo! Wise decision to not overdo it so close to your big day in Boston. I can't believe you're able to chit chat while running a half and you still manage to finish in that time. Must be nice to be so fit and fast.

Nice bit of running. The time bodes well for a fast Boston for you.