Surviving not Thriving at The Cleveland Marathon This Year

Marathon # 5 is in the books! This year the Cleveland weather threw a lot of craziness at us brave runners including pouring rain, serious humidity and some hot temps late into the race but overall the whole marathon weekend experience for me was awesome thanks to the support of my husband, friends, Challenge Family teammates and marathon ambassadors.

Friday Evening:

Cleve Marathon Ambassadors

This year I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the Official Cleveland Marathon Ambassadors. In addition to a free race entry and swag, I met the nicest group of people ever! I already had a couple of friends in the group but am happy to say that I made a bunch of new, amazing friends as well. I really can't say enough how much fun we had and the incredible amount of support that I received from this group! I look forward to following these folks as they go on to take on their next challenges. Friday our group was invited to the Marathon VIP Reception at the Hyatt Arcade. It was a first class event all around with excellent food, beverages and company! Special thanks to Jack Staph, owner of the Cleveland Marathon race for his generosity. A few of us ambassadors also attended the pre-race happy hour with Great Lakes Brewing at Flannery's Pub. I want to send a big shout out to Great Lakes for sponsoring the marathon this year. It was wonderful to have a local craft beer after my race!

Saturday:

Green screen fun at the Expo

Saturday my husband Steve and I had a relaxing morning including some practice golf at the Blackbrook Driving Range followed up with a short 25 minute shakeout run. It was a very humid, sweaty run so I had a feeling we would be battling some tough race conditions. After lunch we headed downtown to the Convention Center for the marathon expo. We met up with my friend Jillian there and after the expo headed over to Barrio for a prerace IPA and some amazing chips and guac! Steve and I made a conservative prerace dinner and had another prerace beer with a lot of water and turned in early to watch a funny movie before bed. I slept pretty well waking up once to use the bathroom and have a little Powerbar snack.

Race Day:

The alarm went off at 4:30 and we were up right away to get dressed, eat a hearty breakfast and head out by 5:20. We arrived at the Penton parking garage around 6am and by the time we got ready and met up with my friend Jillian and walked over to the start area it was 6:30. I was supposed to meet my ambassador group but Jillian and I both had to use the bathroom before the race so we headed off to search for the ladies room. We met back up with Steve and chatted with some friends a couple minutes before heading into our corrals for the start. I lined up with the 3:35 pace group with friends Jessica and my new friend Jen who came in from Charleston, SC for the race. As we were waiting for the start, it poured down rain for about 5 minutes before it died down. It was tough just standing there but the rain probably helped cool us down as it was a very humid morning!

We took off after a quick 10-sec countdown and the first few miles went by super fast as I chatted with friends and our pacer. Things went smooth with my nutrition and water from the start. I made sure to get water early on as I knew I would need it later in the run. I felt on track but really had to use the bathroom so I stopped at the porta-johns at mile 13. Unforunately I had to wait a bit and then after my stop for water the pace group was too far ahead of me to catch up. I decided to just try and pace myself around 3:35. My goal for the race was 3:35-3:38. My BQ time is 3:40 but it's usually necessary to have a cushion to get into the race.

I paced pretty well until before the turn around in Rocky River. I was super excited to see my husband pass and see that he was on pace for his BQ! The 3:40 group ended up passing me and I figured I could maybe get back on track so I pushed on. Somewhere around mile 18 or 19 it started pouring rain again. It was bitter sweet because it cooled me off but it was also soaking my clothes and feet. My shoes rubbed and I knew I was in trouble with blisters. I also started to labor a bit around mile 21 or 22 and the rain didn't make it easier. Then the sun came out full blast as we headed to the shoreway. I baked and baked some more and I got very nauseated and stopped to throw up. I wanted to quit but that wasn't an option. I wanted to PR but that was a long shot. So I ran and I puked and I walked. I was happy to see my friend Jillian on the course. With a hug and a sip of water from her as well as good news that Steve had a BQ race, I drudged on reluctantly. The last mile was bittersweet as I fought to try to at least run the same time as I had done last year for this race. My thoughts went to beer. I just want a beer and my husband! I was pretty elated to see the finish to say the least!

Post race with my hubby!

Unfortunately I was about a minute slower than last year with a 3:52:30. Not a time to celebrate but certainly an accomplishment for just surviving the day. Instead of celebrating right away I threw up several times. I ran into my friend Jen who had a rough day too and had actually pulled out of the race early (poor thing).

Finally after about 30-40 minutes of relaxing and icing my neck I was cooled off enough  to get a post finish picture with Steve and then walk over to the beer tent for my Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale. Beer after a race that hard is amazing!

We walked to the parking garage and got cleaned up and changed into dry clothes before heading to the Winking Lizard to meet up with some of our Cleveland Tri Club friends and my friend Jillian. I enjoyed another beer and a burger and some great conversation. After heading home I was just hungry all day basically and ready for bed at 8:30! Aside from a throbbing toenail and a little overall fatigue, I feel good. I will take it easy for 2-3 days then ease back into my training. I have a duathlon and a couple tris approaching but I may try one more marathon in late June to see if I can BQ before the serious Half & Full Iron training starts this summer. But for now it's rest and recover!

Steve and CTC friends Jim, Frode, Dan & Jason post race!

Cleveland Marathon Race Week is Upon Us!

Wow, it's Cleveland Marathon race week! Needless to say I have a lot of excitement and emotions swirling around in my head and heart. After coming up a little short of my BQ goal in Toledo a few weeks ago I am anxious to give it another go. This will be race #7 for me this season. I don't think I have ever had such an intense race season this early in the year. It's been a good year already and I need to stop and appreciate that in itself. I am fortunate to be healthy this year and able to push myself to new achievements. Hopefully I can do that again this Sunday.

Five years ago I ran my first full marathon in Cleveland (my beloved hometown). Back then I hoped to finish but had a glimmer of hope for a BQ too. Needless to say I survived but was nowhere near a BQ! I never realized how hard it would be for me to achieve this goal. Five years later, I line up in my hometown again for marathon #5. Maybe this is the one where it will all come together for me. Toledo was close but maybe I am supposed to BQ at home. I guess that will make it even more special for me to know that it's going to happen as I run the shoreway back into downtown. 

No matter what happens this Sunday, I will put my heart and soul into my hometown race and give it everything that I can. I will walk (or hobble) away after the race knowing that I worked hard. I won't be stopped by the heat or anything else. It's me versus me, and I have a goal. Stay tuned to hear how it turns out!

For everyone racing in Cleveland this weekend - especially those brave souls taking on the full 26.2, I wish you luck. Stay strong and fight through the finish. 

The Cleveland Marathon is Rapidly Approaching

Marathon Recovery Week One:

It feels like just yesterday that I raced the Toledo Glass City Marathon and here we are only 10 days out from the Cleveland Marathon! Where does the time go?! I am happy to say that my recovery from Toledo is going very well. I took a couple of days off after just doing some light walking and stretching followed up by a swim day. My first recovery run was Thursday and it went decent. Friday I took it easy and did some more walking and a hike at North Chagrin with Steve that evening. Saturday Steve and I did a 25 mile bike ride followed by a 5 mile brick run (run was pretty hot). Sunday we rode 50 miles in the glorious sunshine.

Marathon Recovery Week Two:

Monday night we did a 10 mile run in the wicked humidity (that was a tough one). Yesterday I did a 2200m swim and a walk last night with the dog followed by some stretching. This morning I did a 6 mile run with 2 easy, 3 @ marathon pace and a cooldown mile followed by some stretching. I will be doing a second easy run of about 4 miles at lunch today. Tomorrow I will run 8 miles in the am before my morning meeting and then if my legs feel good I will do an hour easy on the bike in the evening. Friday I will swim 2000 meters in the am and do Bikram Yoga (Hot Yoga) in the evening. Saturday I will run 8 with some miles at marathon pace. Sunday I will ride 90 minutes.

Marathon Recovery Week Three Plan:

Monday I will run an easy 4 miles. Tuesday will be an easy 1200m swim, Wednesday and Thursday I will run 4 with .5 easy, 3 at marathon pace and .5 easy. Friday will be an off day with some stretching. Saturday will be an easy 3 mile shakeout run. Sunday will be go time!

My Cleveland Race Day Plan:

My plan as of now is to go out with the 3:35 pace group. My qualifying time is 3:40 but going with the 3:35 group gives me a little cushion as I really need about a 3:38 to be within the cutoff for Boston registration. At this point I am hoping for nice weather that is not too hot! I am eating and sleeping well and stretching often and staying focused and positive. Hopefully I will have a good day! Stay tuned for the race report!

Cleveland Marathon Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to everyone that entered the contest to win a free entry to the 2015 Cleveland Marathon race of their choice! All of you had really compelling reasons to want to run and I am inspired by all of you. At the end of the day I wish there could be more than one winner! The only way to decide and be fair was to randomly select a winner so all of your names were out into a hat and I asked my hubby to draw the name of the lucky winner.

Image from a past Cleveland Marathon race!

The selected name and winner of the contest is Krystol Chang! Congrats Krystol! She will be running the half marathon.  Krystol, I hope you have a wonderful experience running the Cleveland Half Marathon this year and can't wait to hear how your race goes! I will be in touch with details for how to register for your free race soon!

Cleveland Marathon is Three Weeks Away - Enter to Win An Entry to The Race of Your Choice

I cannot believe it, but the Cleveland Marathon is three weeks from this Sunday! As I toe the line in Toledo, I will be trying to recover quickly to race strong in my hometown! If you have done this race before than you already will know the amazing energy that comes with this race. Cleveland people are very supportive of this race and line the streets to cheer on the runners!

Playhouse Square Chandelier!

The course was changed last year to incorporate much more of the westside and has changed again this year to make it even better as it now goes through Playhouse Square by the enormous new outdoor chandelier! I am looking forward to seeing this on my run along with the gorgeous views of our own Lake Erie and the Cleveland skyline!

The course is flat and fast and the weather is usually nice for the race. It has been a little warm once or twice so make sure you bring some salt tabs or electrolyte drink with you!

As an Official Cleveland Marathon Ambassador for 2015, I have a free entry to giveaway to the Cleveland Marathon race distance of your choice! You can use it for the 10K, Half Marathon or Marathon. All of the races are spectacular and sure to be fast and fun! To enter to win the entry, simply comment below on which race you want to do and why. A winner will be chosen early next week and announced here on my blog and social media channels by Monday afternoon! Goodluck!

Fools 25K Race Report & Marathon Training Update

The last two Sundays have been filled with long trail runs. This makes me a happy girl because I love trail running!

On March 29th, my husband Steve and I both raced The Fools 25K Trail race again in Peninsula. That is a terrific race put on by our friends at Western Reserve Racing. There is a 50K option as well for those who want to go longer - but the 25K distance on a hard course like this is a great effort to get ready for marathon season! Because of the difficulty of the course and longer time it takes to complete this race I consider it one of my 20 mile training runs. 

This year it was 14 degrees at the start. Brrr! We got down to Pine Hollow to park and pick up our bibs around 8am. This gave us plenty of time to get in a warm up, use the restroom, etc. The ground was full of frozen footprints on the warmup mile so I knew this would make for hard footing throughout the race. The 25K race starts at 9 so we lined up with some of our Cleveland Tri Club friends that were running as well. The race start is downhill into a field before you make your way to the trails so it's usually a fast start. I went out a little faster than planned but then quickly settled in after 2-3 miles into a more sustainable pace for this course. The temperature started rising and I quickly had to roll up my shirt sleeves and lose my gloves. 

My speedy husband w/ his award for winning Masters!

I felt pretty good through the half way point but then the frozen, uneven terrain started to weigh on me. By Salt Run, which is the hardest part of the course in my opinion (at least in terms of elevation) I was whooped. The stairs were especially tough and I ended up walking near the end more than I had anticipated. I think this was a combination of lingering fatigue from the GJ50K as well as the tough trail conditions for the day. While it was faster going than last year, it hurt more physically this year. I ended up finishing in 2:43 and change for 6th female, 1st in 35-39AG so it was a course PR and improvement over last year even though I was hoping to be closer to 2:30. Maybe next year I'll get there! Steve ended up finishing 7th overall and 1st place Masters so he had a great race with a time of 2:11. After the race we headed over the to the Winking Lizard with our friends Mark, Frode and Phil for some hoppy beers and hard-earned food.

Enjoying an Easter Sunday on the trails!

Much of last week I was fighting off a strain in my right calf from the Fools race so I mostly focused on my swimming and cycling and just got in an easy run later in the week. Then yesterday on Easter Sunday, Steve and I hit the trails of Penitentiary Glenn so I could get in one last long one before the Toledo Marathon. I ended up Taping my calf with KT Tape and that helped me get through it along with stretching it periodically. The weather was perfect for running and the trails felt good on my tired body. I am very happy to be officially tapering now on the run! 20 days to go and then 41 days until the Cleveland Marathon! I am unsure if I will run the half or full at this point as I have to see how I recover from Toledo. Either way I am excited because I love the new Cleveland Marathon course and the energy from this local race!

Today is my first rest day in a good bit of time. Then the balance of this week I will do some running including an easy one tomorrow and a tempo run and easier run Thursday then a tune-up race Sunday at Lake Health Running's 10 Mile Drop. I really loved the 20 Mile Drop last year so I am looking forward to running the shorter course this year and trying to find some speed. I will also be swimming 2 x 2400 yds, lifting once, and I have a bike TT tomorrow along with a 30 mile ride Saturday.

2015 is Shaping Up to Be an Epic Year!

2015 is shaping up to be an epic year. With all the excitement I had to share the details!

• Team Rev3 Triathlon will now be Challenge Triathlon Team. I'm excited to be part of the newly branded national age group team! This will be my fourth season with this team and I just love them! If you're considering signing up for any of the Challenge races, all US races (except Rancho Cordova) and Canada races are 10% off if you use my code. Please message me with any questions or for the code. Additionally be sure to watch for other specials. Right now for the month of December Challenge Maine and Challenge St. Andrews are buy one get one 1/2 off! 

• I have been selected as a 2015 Official Cleveland Marathon Ambassador. I am excited to represent my hometown race! If you're considering a spring marathon, half marathon or 10K, this is a great race. Last year the course was redone and it was awesome. We also had perfect running weather!

• I have a new coach...Chris Martino of New Level Coaching. I am looking forward to working with Chris this season and pushing my limits in running and triathlon. I'm hoping for some shiny new PRs and podiums 2015! 

• My husband Steve also has some exciting things going on for 2015! He has joined the Snakebite Racing Team for 2015 and is also now an official Boom! ambassador

Watch the blog for my 2015 race schedule, which is coming soon!