Ohio for state 17!!

 On April 8, 2023, I finished my 17th state half marathon!!  Camden and I left Thursday after school to start our weekend running vacation!

We drove straight to Charleston, WV for our first hotel stop.  We couldn't see much of the WV mountains because of the dark, but we did have to pay the $4.25 toll three times to get there! What we did notice, though, was that spring had not reached WV or Ohio.  

Friday morning, we left for our Ohio adventure!  Our first stop was in Canton at the First Ladies Historic Site.  It was a small museum, but very interesting.  The main focus was Nancy Reagen, Jackie Kennedy, and Abigail Adams, although other First Ladies were mentioned also.  

The First Ladies Quilt of the ladies in their Inaugural Ball Gowns

Jackie Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson

After a quick lunch at Bob Evans, we headed to the National Park in Ohio...Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  

This park is centered around the Cuyahoga River and the Towpath Trail along the Ohio and Erie canals.  We were able to take the short boardwalk to Brandywine Falls....

and hike the Ledges loop.  This trail led us past interesting rock formations that were fun to explore.

After the park, we made our way to Coshocton, OH.  With a quick stop for milkshakes at Swensons Drive-In!  They were very good!!

Coshocton is a very small town but had some pretty spots.  And the Coshocton Village Inn and Suites was very nice with a good view from the room!

Saturday was the race day and the weather was predicted to be very cold!!  Although I had looked at the weather, I had not packed my warmest running clothes and was nervous.  When we left the hotel, it was 32 degrees, but right before we left the car, it was 28 degrees!!  I wore a short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a fleece vest and a fleece jacket!  Along with leggings, gloves and a headband!  

The race was Friends of the Park and supported the park in Coshocton.  Camden and I had both signed up for the half, but he dropped to the 10K due to his coach wanting him to keep his legs fresh for track.  This was a very small race, about 250 people.  Most were local.  The course ran around the park and fortunately went by my car after the first mile so I could drop of my fleece jacket.  Although it was still cold and I kept my gloves on most of the race, the fleece was too much!  So I was glad to get rid of it!

Houses along the race route.  These were really cute!

Camden, of course, finished way ahead of me!  I may have finished last!  My time was definitely slower by about 20 minutes than my OK and AR races.  The main problem with small races, and ones with 5 and 10k options, is that there aren't too many walkers to bring up the rear!!  From about mile 3 to 6, I did have some numbness issues with my foot.  But that went away. Then my glute/hamstring started hurting!!  I had pulled it a few weeks before and apparently it was not healed.  It was really hard to keep running and especially hard to step down from curbs during the downtown portion of the race.  So I had to walk a lot and concentrate on keeping on moving!  

Camden with his 10k medal.  He said he felt good and could have done the half!

After I finished and had a quick clean up at the hotel, we got Mexican for lunch.  We had run through the Roscoe Historic Village, so we went back to look around and support the local economy!  I actually didn't buy any soap but did get some Ohio buckeyes!  

Historic Roscoe Village

Our next stop was Wytheville, VA for our last night on the road.  We both felt like we had not had any really good meals yet, so Camden found a place called the Log House 1776 Restaurant.  We called and got a reservation and were very happy with our choice!  We were able to have a relaxing time at our last hotel...playing pool, swimming in the pool and using the fitness center...before we headed home.  

With one last side trip to Mt. Airy, NC to see the Andy Griffith Statue.  The museum and most of the downtown area wasn't open, so we saw the statue and headed home!

It was a super fun time making memories with Camden and finishing state 17!  I also learned that after having numb foot issues at both DE and OH, which were both run about 4-5 weeks after another half, it seems as if running another so close is hard for me.   I don't know how bad it is for me, but definitely hard.  Also, running with a pulled muscle is very hard and I now have to rest and heal it.  Such a pain in the butt literally!!  My next scheduled race is a full marathon in October.  So I have time to heal.  But hopefully I will heal sooner and be able to get state 18 finished before October!