The race begins downtown Morrow a very small town in Ohio close to where I grew up. A town more known for its canoeing and biking than running. During the first mile they have you circle through the small streets around the park where the race starts. My mom event caught a photo of me.
After this small section we hit the scenic bike trail. Since I had run the race prior I knew mostly what to expect. Although there were quite a bit more people running the race this time. The first couple of miles I found myself surrounded by runners. I knew my mom an my uncle had gone to the turn around point so I just kept focusing on getting to the 6.9 mile mark of the turn around. The miles seem to go by fairly quickly. I didn't focus at all on the time or my pace. I just kept going. I met a really nice lady pushing for a PR from Ashland, Kentucky. She told me about some of the races she has done and we chatted about races I have done. Just before I hit the 5 mile mark around 48 minutes into the race the winners came down the trail in the opposite direction. I may not be an elite runner or will I ever know what its like to be that fast but I am always so amazed to see them come flying by. As I approached the 5.5 water stop I took a gel and made sure to take some water. At this spot there is a small park in the town of South Lebanon so there were several spectators. I also knew I had less than 2 miles until the turnaround. I grabbed a quick water and set off on my way. This is when I started to notice it was much more humid than I really thought it was. There was also a small climb not long after this so I just tried to stay consistent and not push or let it get to me. This is when I also started watching for Jason to come the other way. This also kept me distracted for awhile. I finally saw him and we gave each other then usual keep going, good jobs. I knew he was on pace to set a PR and I was so happy to see that. He still looked strong. Then I hit the 6.9 mile mark. Since I really had no goal or any rush I stopped to let my mom know I was doing fine and that there was only 6.20 to go. She said ok see you at the finish.
As I turned around I was tired but knew it was only 10K to go and felt much better than I thought I would. The main that I often have when running pregnant in my groin and pelvic area was really starting to increase but I knew if I just focused on something else I could push through. I had run in much worse shape and in much more pain. I was feeling slightly sluggish but I knew I had another gel with me. I decided I would take this one around miles 9-10 to push me through. It was the Gu Roctane Lemonade so I knew it had extra electrolytes that would help me. At mile 10 I pulled out my phone and text my mom 10... this way she knew I was getting closer to the finish. Once I made it to 10 I felt a sense of relief. I knew I could run 3.10 more miles. Just after this point is when a rude bike rider almost hit a few ladies in front of me. I didn't have enough time to react to warn them. We chatted for a few minutes and I kept on. As we approached the next water stop I grabbed a water and a cop blocking traffic yelled "Running for Two... you go girl." I smile and thanked him. Another runner also said how amazing she thought I was. I ran with another runner for a minute and we both said well less than a 5K to go, we got this. I continued to just focus on the next mile. I thought maybe it was starting to rain but I realized later I was just sweating so much from the high humidity it felt like rain. As we approached mile 11 I was still feeling good and I realized I was going to finish so much quicker than I really ever thought I would. At mile 12 I sent another message to my mom so she would know I was not far away. The last mile flew by. I got more and more excited the closer I got to the finish. As I made the finish turn into the finish I could hear my mom cheering for me and I just sprinted with every ounce of energy I had left... Official chip time 2:14:27... I could honestly not be more proud of myself. 13.1 at 7 months pregnant is not an easy thing to do but I did it. If you really want something you just have to go for it. I also was able to find out Jason hit a PR. I was so proud of him.
So my goal for the summer was accomplished. If you ever find yourself wanting to run a half marathon in August ad happen to be in the Cincinnati area this is a good one. It is well organized, not very crowded, shaded, and fairly inexpensive.
