2014 Johnnycake Jog Race Report

Prerace:

prerace with my speedy husband!

Although I've lived in Mentor for the last few years, I have never done the Johnnycake Jog until this year. I wanted to see what all the hype was about plus Steve and I have been using these 5 mile races as our speedwork this season so it worked out well being so close to home. With an 8am start we were able to sleep in a bit, get up and eat and then head over to the Lake County Fairgrounds where the race starts and finishes. We met my friend Jillian for a little prerace warmup and then lined up for the race.

Race:

It started to rain while we were lining up for the start. Although I wasn't super happy with the rain it may have been a good thing with the temperature already being high 70s and the air being very humid. The first mile starts out on Mentor Avenue and then you turn right onto Fairgrounds Rd. The rain was coming down pretty steadily and I tried to fight my inclination to go out too fast the first mile. My first mile was around 6:55, which is ideal for me. Once we turned onto Rt 84 also known as Johnnycake I could feel some fatigue setting in and it was also very humid. The rain stopped and I think this was around 3 miles. My legs were feeling heavy having done a 3 hour bike ride and 25 minute run the day before. I didn't feel super fast but I felt strong. My next few mile splits were between 7:10-7:20, which is okay for me.

The last mile running along Mentor Avenue back to the finish was the hardest mile for me for sure at a 7:21 pace. I wanted to kick it in for the last stretch but just really didn't have the energy to push any harder. I crossed the finish line in 36:31 (7:19 pace). Not my best effort but in looking at the results it seems like a number of us that had run Bay Days the previous week were all about :45-60 seconds slower - maybe from the heat and humidity. I was happy to place 3rd in my age group and add a new medal to the collection.

Steve also had a good race placing first in his AG. We both got really excited because they had told him he won male masters and they gave him a medal and $75 cash...but come to find out that was a timing error. It was disappointing for him when they said it was a mistake but at least he still won 1st in his AG. My friend Jillian also placed 3rd in her age group so the three of us did well!

Postrace:

post race celebrating with Jillian :)

After the race awards the three of us went to celebrate at Burgers, Beer & Breakfast in downtown Willoughby where we all had a hoppy beer with our tasty brunches.

Then we headed over for a coffee at Arabica and I went home for a nice catnap and some much needed pool time.