Yesterday, I ran the inaugural Shawshank Hustle in Mansfield, Ohio. It took about an hour and 15 minutes to drive there, so I was up super early in the morning! I left Columbus around 6, knowing that I would be cutting it close. I parked my car at 7:15 and had to wait 30 minutes for a bus to get to the starting line. I made it to pick up my packet with just a few minutes to spare, then met up with my friends who were also running. Then they announced that the start time was being delayed from 8:30 to 9 since so many people were still waiting for a bus from the parking lot! It was super hot and humid at this point, but there was obviously nothing I could do. I decided to take this race easy because of the heat and hills. We finally started right at 9. There were no corrals or pace groups, so with 3,000 runners it was a little chaotic trying to weave through the people walking the race. I am all for walkers, but the race would have been more organized if the walkers had started in the back. The course started out with a sharp left turn where it immediately narrowed - I think this is something that should be changed next year. Other than that, I completely loved the course! It was very challenging with two huge hills (one at the end and one at the halfway point). We got to run past a lot of the places where the movie Shawshank Redemption was filmed, which was super fun! My splits: Mile 1 - 9:38 Mile 2 - 10:00 Mile 3 - 10:48 Mile 4 - 10:25 .66 on Garmin - 10:57 pace My watch had 4.66 miles in 48:03, an average pace of 10:19. My official time was 47:56! I finished 17/62 in my age group, and 580/3,000 overall! I walked twice, toward the end of both hills. My average heart rate was 186, which is higher than I usually train at! I definitely worked hard on this race, and I am very happy with how well I did! Overall, it was a great race with a few minor first year issues. I love the t-shirt and the medal - they both glow in the dark! The course and location were definitely spectacular as well, and I loved the theme of the race. I think something needs to be changed so cars and buses can leave during the race; we had to wait for enough space between the runners right before the finish line to get through, so that was a mess! I don't think the race being delayed because no one showed up on time was the fault of the race organizers, and they did their best to fix that situation once they realized how long the line for the bus was.
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Hello, my name is Alyssa!I'm a momma to Emerson Lilly and two fur babies, a distance runner, and just a girl full of sparkle and quirks. I love traveling to races and exploring new places to run! I started this blog in 2014 as more of a journal to keep track of training for my first marathon, and I've continued to post about training, races, and other things happening in my life. Also, I'd like to be your best friend. :) Categories
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