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.

Blossom Time Run Race Report

Steve and I decided at the last minute to run the Blossom Time race in Chagrin Falls as a fun run. With perfect weather we had to take advantage of it!

Prerace:

With the start at 9am we were able to sleep in a little bit, which was nice. We arrived in downtown Chagrin Falls around 8 and headed over to packet pick up. It was nice running into some Cleveland Tri Club friends before the race. We headed back to the car to get ready and get in a quick warm up before lining up at the start around 8:50. There was a nice crowd of runners - probably close to 2000 people. It was already getting warm and I decided to run in my sports bra. It turns out that was a good decision because it will a hilly, hot race!

Start & Race:

After the Star Spangled Banner was sung the shotgun went off and it was a mad dash for the first mile. This first mile was fast and totally the opposite of the previous week's more relaxed start at the Cleveland Marathon. I went out a little faster than I probably should have and had some pulling in my right hamstring so I stopped to stretch it out at the first water stop. Steve had taped it for me but I think it just wasn't warmed up yet.

I slowed my pace some the next couple of miles and loosened up. By mile 3 I was ready to race and I really started to get into it. Unfortunately I had some time to make up. I enjoyed the hills and passing people the last couple of miles. The last 1/4 mile was a bonus since this was a 5.25 mile race. I definitely noticed people fading towards the end but with running a marathon the week before I felt great as I came across the finish in 39:25 (7:30 pace). I was 3rd in the 35-39 AG. Not as fast a time as I would have liked but this was a race for fun and I am happy with my time and finishing in my AG considering Cleveland was only a week before and it took me several days to recover from it.

Steve had a good race, finishing in 33:26 for 2nd place in the 45-49AG. A week after his big BQ he is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. It's great to see him doing so well this season!

Post Race:

Hanging out after the race in Chagrin Falls 

We stopped by the Northern Ohio Team in Training tent and said hi to some of staff and athletes that were running the race. Then we stopped at Starbucks for a snack and coffee and enjoyed taking in the gorgeous scenery in Chagrin Falls following the race. There were lots of people downtown with the Blossom Time festival going on.

We stopped for a quick lunch and post race beer on the way home at Willoughby Brewing. The Hop Jam Black IPA is a good one to try!

 It was a fun day. We had a great experience and I think we will definitely do this race again.

Flapjack & Jill 15K Race Report

Last Saturday was my last opportunity to race prior to the Cleveland Marathon. The 15K distance is long enough to challenge my endurance and yet short enough to allow me to see if I could muster up some speed. I've been feeling a little slower lately running many of my runs at marathon pace or slower. Coach said to go for it so I did my best. My thinking was to go out at around a 7:15-7:30 pace and I pretty much stuck to that with my first mile being a little faster and my last a little slower.

The Flapjack & Jill 15K took place in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) on the Towpath Trail. I love this section of the park and ran one of my first ever 20 milers on it years back so I was excited about the chance to do a race on this mostly flat, softer surface.

Prerace:

Steve and I got in a couple of easy miles to warm up before the race. It was a little cool at 50 degrees or so but I decided to race sans armwarmers as I figured I'd work up a sweat. We lined up around 8:00 and we were off.

The Start:

Race start I'm in the yellow hat and red shirt & steve is on my right

The start was fun as it started at the Stanford house and went straight down a little hill across the street onto a trail leading to the Towpath where we then took a right and ran toward the Ohio Turnpike Bridge. I started in the front next to Steve since it was a smaller race. One woman who ended up in second passed me right away and I just stuck to my pace.

The First 4-5 Miles:

Maybe another mile or two later another woman passed who ended up being the overall winner. We pretty much stayed in that position for a couple miles and then a couple other women passed. I just kept telling myself to stick to the pace. It's impossible to know whether they'll slow down or not later depending on their endurance and intensity. My hope was to at least place in the top three although I wasn't sure if that was going to happen.

The Back 4-5 Miles:

I did a gel around mile 5 at the water stop and kept steady (thanks for the race fuel Powerbar). I think one more more woman passed me here and she was in front of me the rest of the race just outside of my reach. I was feeling a little fatigued around miles 7-8 and my right calf was cramping up. I thought this might happen as it was a little achy following my Wednesday longer run. I just tried to maintain as I knew the finish wasn't too far off!

The Finish:

post race with my adorable & fast husband!

I enjoyed the finish. Running back up to the Stanford House there was the little hill but a lot of people cheering including my speedy husband. I finished a little slower than my goal time at 1:10:41 (7:36 pace) but was happy with the finish. I was 7th female and 3rd in the 35-39 age group. Both other women in my age group were within a minute of me and the woman who placed third was only 90 seconds ahead of me with an average 7:26 pace so it was a small but competitive womens' field.

Post Race & Closing Thoughts:

Steve had a great race and placed second overall so we headed out to Kent to visit Ray's Place for some post race celebratory IPAS and food.

It was a good day and we were lucky that the rain held out for the race. As usual Western Reserve Racing did a nice job with the event. There was an optional pancake breakfast after which we skipped and we received nice gender specific tech tees. I will definitely consider doing this one again - hopefully a little faster the next time! Next up is Cleveland in 10 days!

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!

Not The Luck of the Irish - But Consistent at This Year's St Malachi Race

Each year right around St. Patrick's Day I get excited. As the winter dies down and the hope of spring appears, I know that it's almost time for the annual St Malachi 5-miler. This 5-mile road race is almost a right of passage into spring for many athletes in Cleveland Ohio. What better way is there to celebrate St. Pat's than to run your butt off for 5 miles and then go drink beer at Irish pub? So this year as with several years previously I headed downtown to do just that.

Prerace:

The start of the race is not until 9:45 and with picking up our packets in advance of the race it was nice to actually "sleep-in" on a race morning. Unfortunately what we woke up to was a blizzard. Eek, this is not good I thought to myself beginning to worry about the footing for the race. In addition the morning was stressful with coordinating a babysitter for the little kids and a practice SAT test for the older one. I was also a teensy bit crabby as a result of the monthly timing of the race. Despite the chaos and challenges, Steve and I got dressed, ate breakfast, got the kids ready and to where they needed to be and hit the road around 8:15.

The drive was messy with snow and slush. We made it downtown around 9 and opted to stay in the warm car for a little while as we got ready. Around 9:15 we headed to the restrooms and got in a 1 mile warm up mostly easy with a few strides. I could tell it was going to be cautious footing. 

The Race:

Trying to catch the guy in front of me as we head towards the finish

Around 9:40 we lined up closer to the front and made small talk with some friends and chatty strangers. Then we were off. The first mile of this race is always fast and this year was no exception. My splits for the first two miles of the race were 6:28 and 7:16 with my 5k time at 21:30 (a 6:56 average pace). My last two miles felt hard as we ran through slush and a snow/sleet mix pelted me in the face. Wrapping up at 35:56 (7:11 pace) it is safe to say my plan to negative split and run sub 7 was unsuccessful this time. Too much shuffling around my feet trying to keep them out of the slush and puddles and I was a little fatigued that last mile going up hill. No luck of the Irish here but I was okay with my performance only being 2 seconds slower than last year. 

Considering all factors I feel like if I had better weather conditions I might have nailed my goal of sub 35. At least I was consistent with last year's performance to finish 9th of 252 in the 30-34 age group and 33/1153 overall female. Aging up next year to 35-39 will help I hope!

Steve had a good race as well finishing in 32:15 (6:27 pace) and placing 5th of 126 in the 45-49 age group and 79th overall.

Post Race:

After the race Steve and I were both wet and cold from the race. We said hi to some friends and headed to the car to change into dry clothes and shoes. Being the awesome husband that he is he helped me pull on my compression socks, which is actually difficult in a car when you have wet feet.

We then headed to McCarthy's to meet up with friends and have a nice, hard-earned beer. I'm happy to say that this year McCarthy's had the Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA! It's always a sweet finish knowing that a beer is just a few minutes away. 

Following the drink we headed back to Mentor and ingested a lot of really tasty but bad food at Melt Bar & Grill along with another tasty IPA. 

Another St. Paddy's day and another St. Malachi race in the books. Good times! 

Mentor Flag Day 5K - Easier Said Than Done

My friends and loved will know this about me...that I sometimes have unreasonable expectations of myself when it comes to racing. They accept that about me because I have been known to throw a temper tantrum after a bad race (I'm working on this). The Mentor Flag Day 5K was one of these instances. It was a last minute decision to sign up and I wasn't really trained. I know what you're thinking...train for a 5K...who needs to do that? It should be easy right? That is what I thought too! Considering I had just started running again two weeks before and hadn't run more than 2 miles I somehow did not think I would stand the chance of bombing this race. In fact, I thought I might even be able to win if the super fast chicks stayed home. I thought I could pull out a 21 or 22 minutes easy. I thought wrong.

The race starts downhill and I mean downhill! So my first mile was 6:03! Just a wee bit more than the 6:45 I was aiming for. So by mile 2 I was pooped out and took a little break. Back to it and holy crap was it hot and hilly that last mile. Clearly I had underestimated this little 5K. I walked a couple more times that last mile and figure I easily lost 2+ minutes because of it. I was not a happy girl at the finish when I looked up and saw 23:57. Yuck! Not a bad time really but I was certainly capable of the 21 or 22 I had hoped for had my race went better. So I was mad and wanting to leave.

Steve on the other hand had a great race of 19:36...a personal best for him. I didn't think there was anyway I would place but thought he might so we stuck around for the rewards, which took a while. He placed third in his age group and amazingly I took first in my age group. The winning female times were 20-22 minute range. So while I should've been happy I even placed I was mad at myself for having a bad race. This is just me. I knew I could have done better.

Another one in the books. Lesson learned. The training continues and I hope to get my endurance back soon and to learn to be a little easier on myself.