Heartland Series: Ohio
May 28, 2017
2:28:09
Temp: High 60s to high 70s
What I wore: visor, tank top, a Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra, compression socks, and Altra Escalante
After two days of driving that included a some fun in Pittsburgh, Beer Geek and I rolled into small town Ohio. We stopped by packet pickup, where I couldn’t resist buying myself a new medal hanger, specifically for my Mainly Marathon medals. Then we headed to dinner at the local brewpub. We did a sampler of all of their beers, which prompted the owner to come over and chat with us. Then I proceeded to eat a bison burger as big as my head along with a crazy number of tater tots. (It was so big that a random woman actually stopped by our table to ask me if I ate the whole thing. Yes. Yes, I did.)
We retired early to our hotel. It was an old school “motel” (gotta love small towns), but was well maintained and our room was nice. Unfortunately, some of the clientele were heavy smokers and spent a good bit of the evening outside smoking. I’m not a fan of the smell and the smoke makes me stuffed up, so I didn’t get the best night sleep ever.
Because this race was in EST, the race didn’t start until 6am, but the 4:30am wakeup still came way too early. We got there with plenty of time to spare and I was happy to see that there was a real bathroom right on the course. The course was a flat one that required 8 laps.
For some reason, I always seem to struggle with the first race when I run one of these series. I purposely ran slowly because I knew I had more days ahead of me, but even so, I just felt drained the whole race. My legs were heavy, the bison burger felt like it was still sitting in my belly, and I just had a hard time getting into a good rhythm. It wasn’t my best race, but it wasn’t the worst I’d ever run, so I was just happy to finish under 2:30 and have another state to mark off on the countdown.
The good:
- I love Mainly Marathons races. It’s like coming home every time I see them.
- The course had a lot of “sections”, so it was easy to break it up into mental chunks.
- I was done before the weather got too hot.
The bad:
- Feeling like I had an entire bison along for the ride. I didn’t have any digestive issues, but I certainly felt full the whole time.
The ugly:
- Feeling like I smelled like cigarette smoke the whole time I was running.
Would I run this race again?
I love Mainly Marathons and this was a nice course. I wouldn’t go out of my way to run it again, but I would definitely run it if I happened to be nearby.
I’m linking up with HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Recap. Stop by and check out their blogs and then check out a few in the linkup!
thats a great point Id not have thought of. I would have assumed ID HAVE ROCKED THE FIRST ONE(s) and tired out as the races progressed.
I now think Id be like you are.
Carla recently posted…3 ways Im exercising my intuition muscle
I had never heard of Mainly Marathons until finding you and your blog, it sounds like a fun way to get some races done in different states! Is there a “herd” of people who travel together to each of these, or is it different crowd at each race?
Kimberly Hatting recently posted…Running into the Sun
Congrats on another half marathon and picking up a new state! I am so impressed that you are already on state #35, that’s awesome! The Mainly Marathons races always seem like a great way to conquer a few states and interact with fun runners.
Thanks for linking up for the weekly wrap!
Kimberly G recently posted…Chicago Marathon Training Recap – Week 3
Nice job! I know I say this a lot but I have no idea how you do this again and again. Super impressive and perhaps a little nutty 🙂
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner recently posted…Trail Mix Popcorn Balls
I hate cigarette smell and smoke. There’s no way I could’ve smelled like one for a race.
I’ve heard of Mainly Marathon! They do something like this for the southern states as well! The one in Mississippi is just a one mile loop. Maybe not even that far so I’m not sure how well I would do running 13 loops! Congrats on state number 35!!
Ive never heard of these races but it sounds like fun! Nice job completing another race!
Lisa @ Mile by Mile recently posted…The Weekly Wrap and New Strength Program
I just don’t think I could do 8 loops of anything to get in 13 miles, but I’m super impressed that you do it! And like you, I’m not a fan of flat courses at all…give me some hills any day so that I can recover on the downside! 🙂
Congratulations on another state checked off!
So fun!
I love that shirt and I love the idea of running this series! What a fun set of races.
Cigarette smoke is the worst. I am really sensitive to it, too, and it can really just ruin a day.
Jenn recently posted…weekly wrap: 6.4.17 – 6.10.17
Yeah, the smoke sucked, but at least the race was fun.
I love the tank you wore! Your Mainly Marathons definitely deserve their own hangar!
Coco recently posted…2017 Lawyers Have Heart Race Recap
I have to laugh–your story about the hotel for some reason reminded me that hotel scene of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. I don’t know why. And I can’t imagine smelling like cigarette smoke during a race. Glad you were able to overcome that and the bison and finish this one! Congrats!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…I Get To Run
Wait, where was this?! Sounds like fun!! And sorry about the smoke… ick.
Rachel recently posted…How to Make the Most of Your Summer Farm Share
I find it hard to know what to eat the night before a race when on the road. That’s going to be me this weekend but there aren’t a lot of food options so I need to pick wisely (no bison burger, lol). That beer sample does look pretty good though!
The number of races you ran that week just impresses me. No need to justify or worry about your slower pace for this race, the fact that you ran as many miles as you did in such a short amount of time is amazing.
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running recently posted…Chicago Marathon Training Log – Week 1
This series sounds fun!
Clarinda recently posted…Zucchini Matcha Muffins
Congrats on your race!!! I am so with you on the cigarette smoke. I would’ve had a terrible time sleeping and certainly with doing an event with all that. UGH! Glad you got through it OK. Have a great rest of the week! 🙂