Race Recap: NES 3-Miler

The 3 mile course.

The Near East Side (NES) 3-Miler took place Saturday, May 9 at 8:00am in Columbus Ohio.

Pre-Race
We were invited by a friend on the planning committee for the Near East Side Hop. In the end, she recruited at least a dozen people for the race. The race was relatively small, but well planned. It was the event's first year and I would return in the future. Packets included a nice OSU drawstring bag, some flyers, snacks, a pen, and a cotton shirt. The shirt only came in a few sizes, so I had to settle with a medium but whatever, it'll make a good night shirt!

We arrived about 25 minutes before to pick up our packets. We met up with friends and waited for the start. It was very low-key and a welcome change of pace from Cap City.

The Race
Once we took off, it didn't take long for the field to spread out. I started out fast, but not fast enough to keep up with the top 4 ladies who all ran paces in the 7s. I knew I had to back off, so around three tenths of a mile I kept my time in the 8s. It started to sprinkle during the first mile and I thought it felt amazing. It didn't keep up and the weather returned to humid and warm (68° and 72% humidity), but at least it was overcast.  I'm not 100% healthy (still. ugh). My sickness has progressed to seasonal allergies and around mile 1.5 to 2 I had some trouble breathing, but nothing like last week.

During this section (and really until the end) I was running alone. It was nice to run by the water stops or cops just to see someone! Speaking of cops, there were police stationed at intersections, but there weren't enough for each street crossing. Because I was in a lull I had to deal with three or four cars pulling out on the course, getting confused, and trying to get off as soon as possible. Most of the time I just hung to the shoulder and stayed out of the way, but when we turned at mile 2 down a side street I had to dodge a car. It felt like a game of chicken and eventually I just pointed to the right and said, "I'm going here." That was kind of weird, but I probably expelled like 3% of my energy dealing with it. As I crossed the last major intersection, there was an SUV stopped in the middle. A nearby police officer saw me coming and yelled, "Move! This isn't a parking lot. There's a runner coming!" So yes, some car issues, but I think it's because I was off on my own.

The Garmin graph makes it seem like my pace was all over the place. 

I was dead tired around mile 2, but the mini game of chicken recharged me. I knew I was running relatively fast and only allowed myself to dip into the 9s when I needed a rest. I felt slow during mile 2, but looking at my data, it wasn't too bad. I enjoy courses with long straightaways for two reasons: 1. I can see where I'm going and break up the distance and 2. It's nice not worrying about taking the quickest way around turns. When I came around the second to last turn back to Long Street I could almost see the end, so I sped up. On the final turn I was able to get back into the 7s and kind of sprinted in as Alex and his mom cheered.

Hot and sweaty after.

Final Stats and Thoughts
The post race goodies were great: water, grapes (yum), Clif bars, lentil salad (!), yogurt... and two tables where you could win prizes. As I mentioned, it was a small race but it was well planned and the crowd support at the end was really nice. We stayed until the final walkers crossed the line and every time someone new came into the finish chute the crowd would holler.

Final Time: 25:05.6 (8:21 pace)
Overall: 13/86 (15%)
Gender: 5/52 (10%)
Division: 3/20 (15%) Does this count as an Age Group podium?

Additional Stat: I ran my fastest mile since getting my Garmin! Mile 1 was 8:11. I believe my fasted mile in cross country was 7:40-something. Maybe someday I can get back to that... If this was a full 5k, I was on pace to PR! Hope I can duplicate this pace at my next 5k.

By the way, Alex did not win, but he came in second. I believe he ran his fastest pace of the year (6:28), but there was a crazy fast 16 year old in the lead.

Up Next: I've got the Medina Half Marathon on May 30. I'm not really ready and need to either train on hills or just go for a moderately-paced finish. Hope it's not too hot! After that? Who knows! The next race on my schedule isn't until October. Crazy!