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Notes

Chip time: 2:01:54.40

What a wonderful race and a wonderful course! The race is so low key, no nonchalant. Joe Ely and I arrived in Bluffton shortly before 7:00 AM. Based on what he'd seen online, Joe was certain I would be bib #1 and he #3. We would be elite runners for the day; Kenyans for the duration of the race. Alas, that was not to be. We were both disappointed.

After getting our bibs and shirts in the city gym, we meandered outside to await the line up at the starting line and starting gun. This race is so low key, we were told the "starting line" was "at the beginning of this (traffic) intersection." The "starting gun" was a woman on a bullhorn yelling "Go!" She yelled and off we went.

The course is one of the prettiest I've run. After three miles on the road heading out of town, the course turns and winds through Ouabache State Park. This is a beautiful park, filled over Labor Day weekend with camping families. It was neat to wave hello to so many people watching the runners fly through their holiday and getting cheered on by them.

My first five miles were terrifically fast. I don't think I was going out too fast; my pace felt quite comfortable, not forced at all. Despite slowing through the next three, I hit my goal of getting through 8 miles in under 1 hour, 15 minutes, by a nice margin, coming through that point in 1:13:45. My goal for the last five was to run it like a "bat outta hell" in under 45 minutes and nail my sub-2 hour goal. Things didn't go quite as planned.

Instead, Miles 10 and 11 were labored with frequent walk breaks. When I had to slow down, my heart was pounding hard in my chest. I think it was a combination of the humidity in the air and my lack of training at the 9 min/mi pace. Maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, this is something to discuss with my coach, Jason Fitzgerald, and ask him for his assessment of my race and how to work on my stamina through the latter miles.

Despite the fact I could see the sub-2 goal slipping away, I still had my eyes fixed on my second goal for the day--besting my current half marathon PR of 2:11:10. That drove me forward as fast as I could go in those last miles. And Joe is a gem of a friend. Around Mile 12.6, he showed up beside me and said, "Follow me to the finish!" He had already crossed the Finish Line and had doubled back to find me and help me come through. At one point, my heart was just about to pound through my chest and I said, "Joe, I can't go on." He yelled back at me, "Come on, the end is right up there." as he pointed the way. "Follow me. I'll take you the shortest way." I redoubled my effort and chased him all the way there.

It was a great race. Definitely one to run again next year if I'm in town with an open calendar. Next is The Blueberry Stomp, a 15K race in Plymouth, IN, on Monday. Joe and I are off again in the Miata on another adventure.