Hill, Yeah it's the Lake Health Half Marathon Race Report!

A little bird told me that the Lake Health Half Marathon was going to be a hilly one. That little bird was not exaggerating! Holy Hills is all I can say and I have the medal to prove it. When your medal says "Hill, Yeah!" on it and shows the elevation chart on it, you know it was a tough race!

Prerace:

Prerace pic with the hubby

With the race starting at the Lake Farmpark in Kirtland at 8am we didn't have to get up ridiculously early as we do with some races. We set the alarm for 6am just like any other normal workday. After a quick shower and some breakfast of waffles, peanut butter and honey, we were off. We had picked up our packets the day before too, which made for an easier prerace. We arrived at the Farmpark around 7:15 with plenty of time to get warmed up with our usual 1 mile easy run, use the restroom, chug some Biotta beet juice and line up. The only negative for me was that my back has been bothering me a lot lately and this morning was no exception. I was a wee bit cranky and debated not even running but am glad that I toughed it out.

Start & First 4 Miles:

In hindsight I should have lined up closer to the front but as I mentioned earlier I was cranky and kindof forcing myself into racing. I thought to myself I am just going to run this easy as a training run and then a minute or two later I decided to go for it and sprinted ahead. My first mile was about 7:15. Not a bad pace but a little fast for me in a half. My half PR was at a 7:30ish pace so I had to slow down a little. I felt pretty good through the first 3-4 miles and then as we entered the first trail I knew I was in trouble. I absolutely love trail running but I did not love it at that moment. I walked one of the hills and my friend Amy Sullivan came up next to me to say hi and see what was going on with me. I am so glad that Amy showed up when she did as chatting with her helped me take my mind off the pain as the rest of the course was pretty much all hills with a combo of road and trail.

Miles 5-11:

Amy and I both felt like we didn't have it in us to really push that day on that course and after talking for a little while and running an easier 8:30-9min pace we decided to stick together and just run the race as a good training run. We stopped and had a couple of Powerbar gels and water along the way and I had to stop around mile 8 for a potty break but aside from that we ran the whole time. Steady as she goes. In retrospect running this as a training run was probably a good idea since I am racing the Rev3 Williamsburg olympic triathlon this weekend!

The Finish:

Post race with my hubby and friend Amy

The last two miles or so went through the Farmpark some road and some trail. It was mentally tough to run back through the start and loop around as the finish felt so close yet so far away. I was very happy to see the Finish ahead at 13 miles and I was unable to sprint the finish as I often do. I just didn't have the gas that day. The course was challenging and I definitely got in a good workout even running it as a 2 hour pace! Maybe next year I will actually race it. I definitely recommend this race to any Northeast Ohio folks looking to get in a challenging half in June. For the money it is a great value as we got a sweet tech shirt and a huge medal for like $35 and you can't beat that!

Post race we headed to Pulp for a well deserved delicious protein smoothie - yum!

2013 Cleveland Marathon Race Report - Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

I'm a little late with this post but better late than never! So as I revisit the Cleveland Marathon race day in my mind I have good memories. It was a fun race - very well organized and a great turnout. The weather was perfect for the first hour or so and then it definitely heated up!

Prerace:

Steve and I were up at 5 to get ready. Our plan was to be on the road by 5:45 to get downtown to park by 6:15. We feasted on some waffles and peanut butter with honey and watermelon along with some coconut water. Once we parked it was time to chug some Biotta beet juice for the extra endurance boost! We parked about 1/2 mile from the race and used the time to get a warm up in. As usual I needed to use the restroom before the start. So we made our way to the stadium to use the facilities and lined up together around 6:50 for the start at 7. I love this race because you can always just feel the energy bubbling as people sing along to that song "Cleveland Rocks" from the Drew Carey show!

Start & First Half:

The start was fast and fun. Steve wanted to run the first mile or so together, which put me a little ahead of my planned 8:30-9 min pace but it was nice being close to him for a little bit. After that he took off and I settled into my groove. There was a good vibe as we ran through the city. My pace was pretty much on target and I felt very good through the first half. Around mile 7 or 8 it got as little warm so I tossed my singlet and ran in the sports bra. Needless to say I did have some fun tanlines after the race! I liked the course all except that we literally ran with the halfers almost to the 13 so it was a bit tough mentally as they were turning left to run their last 1/2 mile or something and we were turning right to start the second half. My half time was 1:55ish with my plan being to finish a tad under 4 hours.

The Back Half:

Running with my friend Andy towards the finish!

The back half started off pretty well. It was getting hotter but was tolerable. I made friends with a guy named Andy and ran about 7 miles with him before I faded a little. Right before MLK I started to cramp a little. I remember glancing at my watch around mile 19.5 so I stopped to do a Powerbar double latte gel and get a sip of water. This kicked in shortly and I was back on track. The breeze running through the park was welcome. I really tried not to stop and walk. I did pretty well until mile 22 or 23 and then I really felt hot and fatigued. From there on it was really a run/walk. I didn't want to push past my limit as there were plenty of people getting medical attention from heat exhaustion. I made sure to take a sip of water at every stop since I knew it would be a hot race. It felt like the last mile would take forever and I caught up to my friend Andy so we were able to push each other a little at the end.

The Finish:

Happy to finish!

Crossing the finish line of my second full marathon was a great feeling even though it was a little slower than I wanted. My time of 4:09 was still better than my first marathon despite the heat. I was very happy and proud to have raised over $1000 for my friend Liz Ferro's nonprofit Girls With Sole by running this race. Knowing that my sweat and pain would help these young girls really helped me push through some hard times.

Post race with my love!

My friend Mickey Rizmek from Northcoast Multisport was there and gave me a hug and Steve cheered me on as I finished. We also ran into our friends Amy and Chris who had run the half. I was tired and ready for some post race food and beverages! After downing a chocolate milk and some snacks we headed to the car to get changed and headed over to the Winking Lizard for pizza and a tall IPA to wait for my longtime friend Jill Earle as she finished her first marathon. We met up with Jill and her friends at Flannery's for another beer and then headed to home sweet home for some well earned rest and some Normatec and Compex recovery!

Post race with Jilly!

I am looking forward to running my third marathon in the fall and hopefully it will be a little cooler and I'll get that sub 4 hour PR!

The Race That Didn't Happen For Me

There comes a first time for everything I suppose. Not finishing a race has never happened to me and I hoped it never would. Certainly I have considered not finishing a race at times but I've always fought through those thoughts and been able to will myself to stay in it. That was not the case at Rev3 Knoxville last weekend. I do not regret my decision to race or to quit the race. It was a decision that I made based on circumstances at the time. I also think it was a valuable learning experience for me.

The weekend itself was awesome! It was wonderful to see my Rev3 family - staff and teammates! As always the Rev3 crew took good care of us as athletes and of course as team members. My teammates were as fun as ever as well as understanding and supportive. I really don't think I would have gotten  through the situation as well without them and of course my biggest cheerleader and husband Steve. I'd like to say thank you to all of them for the support.

Happy to see Carole Sharpless aka Mama Bear

The rain was falling Saturday afternoon as we arrived at the expo and it never stopped through the weekend. Steve and I headed into the Rev3 expo to pick up our race packets, my new team kit and my new team kit, which is sweet! We bumped into a number of the Rev3 staff including race director Eric, team manager extraordinnaire Carole aka mama bear, The man Charlie himself, Laura, Ashley, etc. In timing we were greeted by Tim, Jordan and we bumped into Holly and Lauren all from Team Rev3. It was great to see so many friendly faces! After attending the athlete meeting we headed to the transition area to check in our bikes and check out the swim start.

The 2013 Team Rev3 Kit

Following that we were starved and headed to get a bite to eat at Calhoun's on the River for some tasty barbecue and a pint of beer. After this late lunch Steve and I checked in at the Holiday Inn, which was the host hotel. We got our transition bags packed up and ready and drove the bike course. I tried on my new team kit and it fit great. We ordered a pizza, had a beer and snuggled up to watch a movie and turned in early for some quality prerace zzz's.

Race Morning:

Prerace:

Some of the Rev3 Girls prerace

We woke up to rainy, cold conditions. The temperature of the river was somewhere between 58-59 degrees and the air 52 degrees (brrr) were not ideal conditions to race in. Steve and I got up around 6am and started getting ready, ate breakfast and headed out for the walk in the rain to transition at 7:15. We cut it a little bit close as we had to be out of transition by 7:45 for the oly but we wanted to stay warm as long as possible. In transition we setup and my rack was shared by teammates Chloe and Heather. A number of other teammates including Kristin and Jill were around too.

Walking over to the swim start was a little bit of a stroll. I had decided to wear my never used new Full wetsuit since it was so cold along with some ear warmers. My feet were freezing as we walked on the paved trail toward the start in front of Calhoun's. Once we got down there time seemed to fly by. Before I knew it I was kissing Steve and telling him goodluck and his wave was off. We were next!

Swim Start:

When I jumped in I really didn't have time to warm up and acclimate to the cold water. I just cannon balled in and we were off as it was a deep water start. Those deep water starts are not my favorite to begin with. I positioned myself in the middle, which I don't normally do. I usually head to one side. We started and after maybe 100 or 200 m I gulped in some water and pulled my head up to see what was going on. I lost my noseplugs!  I am a terrible swimmer sans noseplugs. Shit I thought to myself this is not good! I tried to freestyle a little longer but panicked a little and came up only to be hit in the shoulder pretty hard. This stunned me a little so I backtracked a little to one of the kayaks to hang on for a minute. I tried to swim a little but without the plugs it was not going to happen. The nice lady kayaker tracked down some noseplugs for me and I was off or so I thought. I swam another few hundred meters only to find out I went around the wrong buoy. It just wasn't my day. When I learned I would have to swim back up against the current in that freezing water I just didn't have it in me to do it. I pulled out. It was a tough decision to make. I felt like I just had too much working against me that day. I was pretty upset getting out of the water and was very thankful to see my sweet teammate Holly there. She gave me the biggest hug and I knew it would be alright.

Post Swim:

I walked back to transition and ran into some others who had quit the race including one of my teammates. I was glad to have her company for a while as we both tried to warm up from the cold sitting in her car with the seat warmers on. Once we got out I saw another teammate who had done part of the bike course but did not finish due to the cold. I waited in transition until Steve came in. It took him far longer than usual and I was worried so I was relieved to see he was okay. He looked rough though. His teeth were chattering and he was disoriented. I think he had mild hypothermia. I had him put on a jacket to warm up his body and he asked me to run with him. I ran the 10K with him until just before the finish. It was a soggy, wet run but was nice to be there for him.

Post Race Festivities:

Post race food & beverages with Team Rev3

After showering and getting warmed up we headed out later to meet some teammates at Soccer Taco in Downtown Knoxville for Mexican food and drinks to celebrate Cinco de Maya. It was a blast. I have the best teammates ever. Leaving the restaurant we actually had a short window with no rain so we decided to walk. We found a cute little Craft beer market and stopped in for a few minutes.

Heading back to the hotel we ran into Mirinda "Rinny" Carfrae - one of my favorite female triathletes. She was super nice to talk to and she really lifted my spirits. Later that night we headed out again for a little while to enjoy another beverage with the team. It was really hard to leave because I knew I wouldn't see them again until Williamsburg in late June. Despite the day's challenges and disappointments it was still a good day. I learned that it's okay to fail as long as you try but to never try is not an option. I may have failed the race but there are many more opportunities to race this year and after all I am not getting paid to be an athlete. This is a hobby that I love. I need to keep it in perspective. 

I had to get a picture with Rinny!

Have you ever not finished a race? If so, why and how did it make you feel?

On My Own Two Feet Half Marathon Race Report

Running a half marathon in April in Northeast Ohio is challenging. I can recall last year running Dover the weekend before the Boston Marathon. It was 83 degrees at the start of Dover, which turned out to be a bad race experience for me last season. Saturday when I got up to get ready to run the On My Own Two Feet Half Marathon, I realized it had snowed some the night before. It was cold (30s, windy and grey with a 30% chance of snow). Needless to say not the best weather conditions you'd hope for on April 20th. Steve and I got ready and headed out around 7:15 since we had to drive from Concord to Kent - about an hour drive. The race would start at 9am.

I felt pretty good before the race...not too nervous just a little cold as was to be expected given the temperature and wind. Steve and I ran an easy mile to warm up, took in our prerace fuel courtesy of PowerBar and lined up.  The race director Melissa said some words about the race day dedications. Close to my heart were the words about the Boston Marathon bombings. They had given out blue and yellow ribbons to wear in honor of Boston. As you can imagine it was an emotional thing to race the weekend following Boston. As she spoke of Boston she asked us to dig deep within ourselves and honor the Boston victims and our freedom.

We lined up and the start was fast from just next to Beckwith's Orchard. We started on the Portage Bike/Hike for maybe a mile or so and headed into Towner's Woods. At this time I was the second female behind the woman who won the full marathon. The trails were fun and challenging. Although I have not done much trail running for the last several weeks I was grateful to have had a good base of trail running in the fall and winter. I was quickly reminded of how dangerous trail running can be especially with the ground being wet. Within the first couple miles of trail I had twisted my left ankle and then my right - fortunately my balance was good and I was able to hold steady and move on. I fatigued a little coming into the grassy trail section and I knew I had to slow my pace a little.

Running through the trails during the race

Around mile 4 the woman who placed first in the half marathon passed me as we headed back out toward the bike/hike trail. She looked solid and I was not interested in trying to catch her at that point in the race. I threw off my jacket and gloves and handed them to a race volunteer as I was warm at that point. In retrospect this was not good as maybe a mile later it began to literally snow/sleet sideways - almost to the point where it was difficult to see where I was going. And being that this is a smaller race, I was alone for a lot of this section until maybe mile 7 when the woman who won second in the half marathon passed me. The course was confusing here as you had to get off the bike/hike trail, run down next to the railroad tracks then up Crain Ave and onto the trail by River's Edge park off 43.

Running through River's Edge was both beautiful and dangerous given the conditions. Much of this course was on a paved path, wooden decking including many sets of steps and some wooden bridges winding through the park along the water. Much of which was snow covered and slippery so it was a little slow going  for a mile or two to maintain solid footing. I grew very excited around mile 8 or so seeing Steve and being able to high-five him. He was in 2nd place for the men and looked great! The turn around point was around mile 9 where I took in a gel and hit the gas. I could see the woman in second (at the time I thought she was third as I didn't know the first woman was doing the full). The point is I really wanted to at least try to place third so I went for it.

After the turn-around as I passed the runners behind me I felt a real sense of oneness with everyone. I made sure to wave, thumbs up, scream for, throw up my arms or make some sort of friendly gesture to let them know they were all my fellow runners and therefore friends. It was a real pick-me-up to see them return those gestures and shout back and cheer. This helped get me through some of the tough last miles of the race.

The last mile was especially tough for me back on the bike/hike because you could actually see people at the finish for a good distance and the finish line seemed to be close yet far away. I thought of the Boston runners and Melissa's words about digging deep for Boston and for freedom and all runners everywhere and I did my best to honor those words and in fact dig deep. I tried to kick at the end. I grew excited to see Steve at the finish waiting and cheering for me. I crossed my hands over my heart for Boston as I crossed the finish in 1:50:24. Not a fast time for me for a regular half marathon but this was not a regular road half marathon! Steve and  fellow athlete and Friend Elizabeth who had been volunteering informed me that I had placed 3rd overall female! Holy Crap I was excited. I thought I was 4th but as it turns out the speedy first woman was running the full! Bonus! Steve had also placed 3rd overall male running a 1:36 and change! Second Sole was kind enough to have provided gift certificates to the top 3 finishers male and female so that was an extra bonus too!

Post race celebrating 

After the race Steve and I were both starving. They had a nice spread of goodies and generous folks on site to give complimentary massages! That was much needed! We headed to Starbucks so I could change out of my sweaty race clothes, hit the Second Sole to use our gift certificates and headed to Ray's Place for a hard-earned tall IPA and some yummy food - including those killer fries! It was a great day and a great race despite the weather. We will definitely run this race again!

Run Free - My Thoughts on Boston and Our Running Community

I am a runner. Pure and simple. This simple but powerful statement connects me to millions of others in the world who also run or were at some point in their lives a runner. It doesn't matter how you started running, how fast you can run the mile or the marathon. Those are just stats. What matters is your character. This is one of the best things about being a runner - the community!

Steve and I after running a memorial mile for Boston 

Last night at 9pm my husband and I gathered at the Mentor High School track along with a group of runners to honor the three victims who were killed and all those who were injured at this week's Boston Marathon. Candles were passed around to the hundred or two hundred runners who gathered and a prayer was said. Maybe the most powerful words said last night during that prayer were that "we are all runners and runners are family". In no other sport is there such a communal feeling. In spite of this week's tragedy at Boston, we are pulled closer together to support one another and this community. We know that we must stand together and not let an act of terror keep us from doing what we have always done. We run. Not only for ourselves but for those who have fallen. Not only for ourselves but for our running community and our freedom. Noone can take that away from us. Run free!

Run your miles this week for Boston. It doesn't matter how many miles or how fast or slow. Your heart's intention is all that really matters.

In yoga we have a saying that feels appropriate to end this post. At the end of every yoga class a simple word is spoken from the teacher and then repeated by the class. The word is namaste. The meaning is as follows "I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace. When you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, we are one."

This week our running community is united even more than ever. Namaste my running friends. We are one.

Learn to Love the Burn - Let Your Long Runs Teach You Lessons

Yesterday was long run day. If you're like me then you might look upon these days with both excitement and dread. Excitement because you know that you are going to get in your best workout of the week and torch many a calorie. Dread because you know that after a certain period of time you may be in what endurance athletes refer to as the "pain cave". That place where you would like nothing more than your GPS watch to read the goal time or mileage you want it to read versus what it actually reads.

Yesterday was one of those pain cave kind of runs for me. Thank god my husband/training partner was along for the ride! We didn't officially map our run route but we knew we were going for 3 hours and would need to be able to access restrooms, water and fuel for the run. We decided to park at Veteran's Park in Mentor and start there on their little wooded trail heading over to the Mentor Lagoons trails by Lake Erie. The trails were wonderful except for the island of dead fish, which was on our route too. Yuck!

We parked around 11:45 and got going around noon. We had eaten breakfast around 9 and then Steve had a Powerbar and I had a small apple and some coffee and water just before we started. My iPod shuffle nearly died as I used the restroom and forgot I had clipped it to my fuelbelt and it fell in the toilet! OMG! I thought you have got to be kidding me...I do not want to run for 3 hours sans music in a training run. I hurried and grabbed it out of the toilet (and yes in case you wondered it fell in before I peed!) and wrapped it in toilet paper. I am not sure how - but I was able to save it. Whew! So following that little fiasco we were off and running literally.

The first loop we did included some wooded trail by the park, a short amount of road over to the Mentor Marsh, a couple of miles by Lake Erie and some more wooded trail around the lake and then the same route back. We made it to the car to fuel up around 7 miles - just over an hour. At the time we both felt pretty good as the temperature was in the 60s (albeit very windy) and we were nice and warmed up. We fueled up and headed back out, this time on the bike trail on the Mentor roads from the park up to Lakeshore heading towards 306. Running on Lakeshore was not fun. Traffic was heavy and we just were not feeling it and were both hungry since we really didn't have a lunch before the run.

Around mile 11 we headed back and stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get a snack. We split a Diet Coke, Water and half of a multigrain bagel with peanut butter. While this all tasted wonderful it was maybe not the best idea to have that much in the belly. I spent the next 2-3 miles running with a sick feeling. Yuck! Good thing this was just a training run. I walked it off a little and we ran up the roads back to the park where we took in our last fuel and headed out around mile 14. We were aiming to get in 18. Despite our desire to just be done with the run, we headed back down to the lake and back to the park, wrapping up right around 3 hours. I tried to remind myself to love the burn. Not everyone is lucky enough or motivated enough to be an endurance athlete. We walked it off for a couple minutes and immediately split a Powerbar and some pretzels and water. After getting home we made a Raw smoothie with banana and some Udi's oil. Yum! It took me about an hour to feel totally revived.

You can learn a lot during these long training runs. Some things that I learned or was reminded of on this long run were as follows:

• Running 18 miles with someone you love is much better than running it alone! Having Steve there is definitely a bonus for me.
• Make sure you eat enough before your run or else you will suffer later. If you try to jam in the food during the run you will likely feel sick.
• Be careful with your Ipod while you are using the restroom. I was lucky mine did not die but it easily could have! 
• Just because your long run goes smooth the week before does not mean it will go smooth this time.
• Even if you want to stop you can keep going. It is more mental than anything else. How else can people run these crazy long ultras?
• I am lucky to be physically and mentally able to do endurance sports. Even if I will never be fast at the marathon I can get stronger, faster and go further! 
• There is freedom and beauty and peace in running long even if you are in the pain cave. Seeing Lake Erie and smelling the fresh spring air and seeing the people out enjoying life was good.
• The smell of citrus is wonderful when you are near two long-running, stinky runners or an island of dead fish.

Cautiously Ramping up the Training - So Far So Good!

For those of you you who know me or have followed my blog for a year or two it will come as no surprise to you that the spring season worries me. I have had serious injuries the last two spring seasons that caused me to cut back on my training (especially the run). I am doing my best to avoid that this season!

I have made a number of changes over the last year to help keep me healthy and able to ramp up nicely into racing season. For starters, I changed my running shoes. While I still tend to run in a lighter, neutral style I do not run in the minimal shoes anymore. I think they work great for some runners but not for me. I need a little something more for training...especially for my longer runs. The second big change I have made is in my strength training and core work. I spent a good deal of the off season working on my strength and core - generally at least two to three workouts weekly. Now that triathlon season is approaching I cannot dedicate as many workouts to core but do plan to maintain one or two workouts weekly (most likely yoga and a short strength session focused on sport-specific fitness). Another thing I have improved upon this year is recovery. After a hard session I am doing my best to replenish with ample carbs and some protein within 10-15 minutes of activity. This really seems to help. Finally I am just listening to my body more and staying flexible. If I have a couple days of calf pain I back off the run.

So far my training is going well. This week I was able to swim a good amount at CSU, ran some solid mileage including just under 16 yesterday and got a few bike rides in - including a hilly ride Saturday. I am ramping up nicely and pain free for Rev3 Knoxville and the Cleveland full marathon next month and Rev3 Williamsburg 70.3 half in June. Depending on how that goes I will make some decisions about fall.

I am looking forward to the weather warming up again for the weekend so I can get in some solid mileage and my old coach and bike mechanic Sean will be heading out Saturday to get the bikes tuned up and ready for racing action! Exciting stuff!