Two weeks after Wineglass I ran (rather at the last minute) the newest half marathon in these here parts: the Spire Institute Covered Bridges Half Marathon. After my bonk in Corning I launched “Operation Run for Fun!” : I’ve been a running store group run hussy, I’ve added a few shorter races to my calendar, and I have been hitting the trails naked – all as a part of my new low-pressure training strategy (naked: without a watch, perv). The Covered Bridges Half didn’t exactly fit into the “What goal?” winter mindset I had decided on, but a PR trip through Wine Country, Ohio (not long after my crash and burn in Wine Country, NY) sure smelled like mini-redemption to me. And grapes.
The race started at 7:00 am from the Spire Institute parking lot. Spire is a non-profit founded on the belief that “sports and education enrich lives.” The place is massive, with an 8-lane indoor track, soccer/football stadium, aquatic center, restaurant, banquet facilities, and health and fitness club. When I was looking to join a gym with a pool last month (more to come on my new H2O endeavor), Spire was one of the first places I checked out. It’s really affordable (less than $40 a month), the pools are sparkling, and it’s the home of the MHS swim team. In the end, however, I just couldn’t justify driving thirty minutes to swim for forty-five, so I opted for the equally priced yet not so shiny and new YMCA five minutes away from my front door.
Spire still looks a little unfinished. The batting cages are filled with weight machines and other exercise equipment, and for some reason the parking lot has not been paved. So at 7:00 sharp, we lined up on the gravel (in the dark) for pre-race announcements no one could hear (isn’t that always the case?) before heading around the building and onto the main roads of Geneva. For the first half mile I focused on not rolling an ankle in a gravel pot hole. Then I concentrated on keeping a steady 8:00/mile pace, which lasted less than five miles. After hitting the half at Wineglass at 1:47, I had set myself a lofty goal of 1:45. At work we have to write SMART goals for learning (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely)…but for some reason in my sweaty life I go a little overboard with the A and the R. I knew after the first hill/covered bridge that I would have to settle for a PR (anything less than 1:56). My lovelies at Achilles Running Shop had never released the course elevation. Now I know why.
I am not a baby on hills. From ultra running (where we WALK the hills, btw), I’ve learned that it’s all about equal effort, not equal pace. This spring at the Flying Pig so many people barreled up the hills and zoomed down the other side, while I kept a steady effort, trucked along, and passed them on the flats. At Covered Bridges I thought I’d use the same strategy: go easy on the hills, then earn some time back on the flats. Except (as you can see) there weren’t a lot of flat sections. Towards the end (where I’ve pointed out the Secret Ninja Hills) it was all tiny rolling hills of dooooooooom. Flat free. I basically crawled the last few miles back to Spire, ran around the track, crossed the finish, got my medal, and punched that Cutsie Pie Achilles Boy right in the gut. (The one in the purple. The one in the green ran it in 1:15, so he experienced more than enough pain and is off the hook.)
STATS: 1:54:37; 76/218, 6/15 in my age group
PROS: PR, super sweet swag (1/4 zip North Face fleece), wine and (more importantly) coffee after the race, Cutsie Pie Achilles Boys, Spire Institute (read: indoor bathrooms), DJ Jeremy calling my name out as I entered the track (fries? call me), track finish, perfect fall weather, running over two covered bridges, the smell of grapes
CONS: first half mile in the dark on gravel, secret ninja hills (how about we release the course elevation ahead of time, kiddos?), a bizarre amount of roadkill on the course, and lack of race day photos
RUN RUN REPEAT 