2011 Columbus Half Marathon

I started my day off with an “O-Dark thirty” wake-up (4:30am) to begin my hour long drive to Columbus, OH for today’s Nationwide Better Health Half Marathon. Traffic was light up until I got to my exit; I waited 45 minutes in bumper to bumper traffic! Blah!

Starting temps were hovering around the upper 40f’s and I kept it minimal today: shorts, short sleeve shirt, my iPod and Garmin GPS. I left my bottles, gloves and pull over in the car… Good choice! I arrived to my start corral thirty minutes prior to race start and managed to keep warm. The race began and we were off!

I ran a sub 9 min/mile pace through 6 miles. I kept it under 9 min/mile up until mile #10 (that’s where things began to crumble). I began having issues with my left hamstring again (similar to the AF Marathon in September). I stretched and wheeled back my pace. Mile #12 was the most difficult mile for me today, because it was slightly uphill (as I was struggling with a tight hammy). I got over the hump, turned the corner and raced downhill to the finish line!

Avg Splits:

#1  8:39           #8  9:27

#2  8:38           #9  9:21

#3  8:47           #10  9:51

#4  8:58           #11  10:24

#5  8:45           #12  11:00

#6  8:51           #13  10:44

#7  9:25           #14   10:38  (the infamous .1 mile)

13.1 @ 2:05:25 (9:28 pace overall).

This was a very fun and rewarding race. There were tons of musicians, DJ’s, and bands at every corner. Also, there were thousands of spectators lined up on both sides of the street… It was very motivating! Thanks Columbus for an amazing event!

Of note, I surpassed 700 miles on the year. I am currently sitting at 708 total miles for 2011! I only accomplished 215 miles all of last year… I am very blessed and fortunate… I flirted with the idea of hitting 1,000 miles for 2011 but unfortunately that will not happen. Who knows, “maybe next year?” We’ll see. Thanks for all of the support throughout the year, take care!

2011 Nationwide Better Columbus Half Marathon Course

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Training plan

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Finish’s medal

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Finish time

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Until next time.  Keep running my friends, and stay safe!


Happy running and God bless!
"Fight the good fight, finish the race, and always keep faith"
2 Timothy 4:7