Craig's OTHER List: We Just Made a Fire Pit...BOOM!

The week after The Buck Fifty (in which we had excellent spring weather AND was noticed by Runner's World with this piece written by Jenny McCoy), it freakin' snowed - AGAIN. Like the rest of this schizophrenic spring, the weather did warm up slowly over the ensuing days. The following Friday, on a whim by L - we bought some bricks and made a fire pit at our new place and spent the late afternoon and early evening feeding it the variety of twigs and branches the tree next door has been shedding. Satisfied with ourselves, we drank a beer or two in celebration while listening to the crackles & pops coming from the flames as the sun feel asleep.

The creepy woods in the
background serves as our
kindling quarry

This is how we are ignoring the push from winter to linger longer than it should. For all intents and purposes - it is now summer for me. I will make it warmer, no matter how many times those damn white flakes tossed by the Snow Miser leisurely float down upon us.

Now if we can just get the ground to thaw a little more, so we can scratch the itch to plant a garden. We may still have a few weeks, but the inside of our house is littered with seedlings idling by our windows like cats planning their attempt to chase down the many squirrels who scavenge throughout our yard.

Oh, and this past week while attending a school event for the library where parents and their children prepare for the next academic year - a ghost from my most recent past paid a visit. At this event, the very first parent & child to come in were accompanied by the grandmother. I smiled at the child, said "hi" to the mother and then all of my cheerfulness evaporated as the grandparent walked by. The grandmother was none other than whack job, w.j., the crazy woman who made living at my Marion apartment difficult simply because she hates life (don't know who she is? No worries, just examine a few previous posts).

I could feel myself take a step backward and move into some sort of defensive position, but I'm not sure what I would have been defending against or how I would defend if something were to happen - it was totally involuntary. Then hell froze over, she smile and said, "Hi Craig, how are you? And how is the new place?" Weirded out at first because she seemed human, I reluctantly remember I'm working and crack a half-hearted smile.

"I'm good and we really like it," wanting to avoid bringing up the past - I add, "and we have a full yard and much more room to garden, unlike the apartment." Continuing to bite my tongue and force the professionalism to peak through the mass of resentment engulfing me, I was taken back when she spoke again.

"That's great, I'm really happy for you...and...," as she sheepishly looks to the ground and back toward me, "I want to apologize. I'm really sorry, there's just been a lot going on." She sticks out her arms, "Can I get a hug?" Surprised at the apology for her being a complete a-hole, I'm not sure what to make of the "hug" suggestion. Halfway expecting to be sucker punched or jabbed with a shiv made out of Chinet Dinnerwear, I slowly oblige thinking there are lots of people here...witnesses, they are all witnesses. She apologized again and moved on through the school event with her daughter and granddaughter. I continued to glance behind me throughout the afternoon because...well...just because. I'm hoping that will be the last interaction with her, though I'm wary of the apology she offered because...for some people...two faces are better than one.

The 10 mile run earlier in the afternoon of our fire pit day was a good reminder of what is on the horizon - half marathons. And the first of such races was to take place the last weekend of this crazy month. The 2018 OhioHealth Capital City Half Marathon on April 28th was my second half this year, following the Brokeman's Winter Warm up back in January when it as all of -4 degrees at the start and my breath froze on my sunglasses (not to mention the frozen solid liquid refreshment afterwards).

Barring any weather ridiculousness, I was hoping for a minimum of 60 degrees on race day. And just like deciding to build a fire pit at the last second and doing it, I'm starting off my summer running with a half marathon rather than using the summer to build up to it and running one at the end (like in 2017) - ripping the Band-Aid off without a second thought or, as one might say, jumping right into the fire.

This time a couple of my The Buck Fifty Traffic Panthers Teammates would join in on the fun. Gary and Josh would run the half with me, while Mark would take part in the quarter marathon.

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Despite excellent spring weather leading up to race day, temperatures dipped a bit. We had mostly sunshine on this morning, but temperatures would hang around the mid 40's. I joined Gary in his strategy of starting in the midsection of our corral. Following the national anthem, played on saxophone by Jerry DePizzo (a member of the band O.A.R. & Ohio native) and the gun goes off. Sitting in the back of the corral, we move slowly with the mass of people toward the start line, start our watches once we cross it and begin weaving our way through the slower runners.

In the past, I would start toward the front of the corral, but my competitive nature had me try to stay close to those going much faster and I would crash near the end. I was hoping this would allow me to say within mys elf and pass folks I should be passing with the pace I'm used to - it worked. Not being pulled by the force of wanting to beat everyone, we kept our comfortable pace and navigated through the mass of competitors. At each fueling station I grabbed just enough sports drink to wet my whistle and when Gary passed me, I made sure to be going fast enough to not lose sight of him.

At the 5k mark, I cross at 20:01 and now I'm simply gaining on folks and only sparingly is there someone who comes up from behind - I'm comfortable as we leave downtown Columbus. I see L before she sees me and she seems startled to see me, confirming my thought that I'm going faster than expected and I feel really good - and still I'm slowly passing people as we cruise north on Neil Avenue. I have to laugh at myself as I run by my former neighborhood here, having lived off of this street about seven years ago and passing some old haunts (memories of joining Dickey, Ryan, Nicole, Steve and others throwing back beers and playing trivia at Hampton's on King). At the halfway point (42:59) and making our way toward the Ohio State University campus, Gary is in the far distance - but I can see him. I'm sort of new at the half marathon and I'm using him as my measuring stick.

My backside, about to turn right onto Neil Avenue. Just
short of mile marker number five.

The crowd of runners in front of me has thinned out a bit and I'm still gaining on some folks, focusing on those ahead I feel like I'm doing a great job of maintaining pace. I hear someone come up behind me, but he stays there and discover he is a loud breather. He obviously is not aware of his extremely audible panting and it is beginning to annoy the bejesus out of me, affecting my concentration. We turn a corner and I stick out my hand to wave him on. He takes notice and as he passes, he offers, "Sorry, I was just trying to draft off of you." It was a rather windy afternoon and I totally understood - which is why I gave him a thumbs up as he passed - but it sounded like he was an animal in heat.

We make it beyond campus and turn to the west to begin the return trip to Columbus. Still sunny, but a rather chilly breeze is lingering. Here I'm glad I decided to stick with running tights under my shorts and a long sleeve dri-fit shirt over a t-shirt. I stayed warm, but didn't get too hot and the shirt kept the wind at bay. I'm still slowly gaining on some folks as the 9 mile marker drifts by and I tell myself the next 4.1 miles will be cake and to maintain as much as I can. I then notice Gary is one of those folks I'm gaining on. Just beyond the 10 mile mark, Gary glances behind him to the left and sees me. I'm about ten feet back - "There you are!", he says. I pull up along side as downtown Columbus is now in full view.

Gary in the red and I in the gray. About to
turn right onto Park Street - 1 1/2 miles to go.

At the last refueling station, Gary drifts in front and I follow close behind. The nerves are starting to kick in as we have two miles to go and I pass by L again just as we turn onto Park Street. We have re-entered the heart of downtown Columbus and what was simply just background noise for the first 12 miles is now the obvious purr of spectators. Gary drifts a little further ahead,but I'm just ecstatic to be where I am. The last half mile is a straight stretch home in the heart of Ohio's Capital City. I get passed by someone, but let him go, though I recognize him as a dude I passed about two miles back.

The start/finish line, in all it's glory, is now in full view of my already crappy eyesight and Gatorade splattered shades. I don't feel like I have slowed down, significantly, for the entire race and just as I reach the end line, I reach to stop my watch and glance at the race clock. The clock clicked over to 1:27:00 just as I crossed, but once I finally had the opportunity to come to a walk I remembered I started in the back of the corral. Meaning, I didn't actually start until moments after the leaders. A quick look at my sticky, sweat covered Garmin watch and I couldn't be more impressed with myself - 1:26:30. I'm a full 3:30 under my goal and nearly 4:00 off of my PR in my fourth attempt at the half marathon.

We seemed to walk forever through the finishing chute, but I could feel the giant grin on my face...it almost hurt. Handed some water and my finisher's medal, I high five Gary and realize right then I had to pee. It was the kind of sensation where you try to nonchalantly walk/run to the nearest restroom, attempting to not look like you have been holding it for 13 miles. The thing is, though, that is exactly what I had been doing and the quick sips of water and Gatorade at each refueling station just added to my bladder's misery and it finally reached it's boiling point. Gary commented, "That at least shows you were well hydrated."

Celebratory finishing beer. Traffic Panthers Teammate
Gary and I with the Land-Grant 13.1 Wheat

I then meet back up with Gary at the finishing party after garnering my free slice of Papa John's Pizza and Land-Grant Brewing 13.1 Wheat CapCity Half Marathon beer. Finishing the pizza and beer I go find L and we make our way to our car. She and I are both excited that the drive home will be much shorter (Delaware is 20 miles closer to Columbus than Marion) and still have the entire Saturday afternoon ahead of us. I laid down at home, but didn't actually fall asleep. Rather, I slept internally for about two hours as I replayed the morning in my head in a dream-like state.

The details

Once tallied, I was flabbergasted to discover I finished 57th out of the 6,400 half marathon finishers. Even more impressive were my mile splits which ranged from 6:23 to 6:47, so the feeling I had of not slowing down significantly throughout the race turned out to be true. The slowest split was mile six, but the next five mile splits were each faster than the next. Don't ask me how I did that, I certainly don't know. And I was just 32 seconds slower in the second half of the race than the first (42:59, 43:31) I'm not bragging, I'm just surprised at what I have been able to accomplish and my competitive nature will keep pushing me until I break.

My Buck Fifty Teammates did quite well also - Gary finished twelve seconds ahead of me, Josh finished in just over two hours and Mark won his age group in the quarter marathon. Not bad for a bunch dudes around 40-something who simply thought this would be a great way to get some free beer.

Up next will be the New Moon Half Marathon in my new hometown of Delaware, Ohio and the 6.55 loop circles the block I live on. I ran the quarter marathon portion of this event last year (once around the 6.55 loop) and didn't do so well, I melted in the humidity of the late afternoon race. I'm hoping, with this now being my training ground, the familiarity will give me some sort of psychological advantage and, maybe, another PR. Hey, it never hurts to get your voodoo workin'....cheers!

Eilen Jewell - It's Your Voodoo Working

I fell in love with your body and soul

My hand's still sticky, and my head's ice cold

My sugar tastes sour; my salt tastes sweet

I woulda laid down but I just can't sleep

It's your voodoo working

Round and round same old thing

Heartache, misery, trouble, and pain

It's your voodoo working

Voodoo working and I can't get a little

Slow down, baby, you're going too fast

Your love is voodoo, and I just can't last