Actual: 11th female in 3:16:15
Splits: 10k - 41:48 Half - 1:30:06 30k - 2:15:05
I wasn't going to write a race report on this race because I'd rather forget it. But forgetting it won't be beneficial and it was so bad that I won't be forgetting it anyway. So here it is.
I trained for this race through February, March and April. I logged 70-100 miles a week and did weekly tempo and speed workouts with a focus on the marathon distance as well as four 20 plus mile long runs in the 7:30-7:40 pace range. I also made a trip out to Colorado, more for vacation than for training purposes. I did end up training 50 miles in five days at about 8,000 feet with running buddy extraordinaire, Mike. I told myself that if anything, I might be a bit overtrained for this. I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't want to leave anything behind in training and I enjoy the training process more than I enjoy racing anyway.
Though I trained for this race since February, I didn't actually register for it until the Friday afternoon before the race. As a Second Sole employee, I was able to gain entry into the race through the company, but it had to be last minute in case I couldn't run. So I knew that it would be 70 degrees and 80 percent humidity before I registered. I didn't discount the weather, but I was determined to go after my time goal. I decided not to wear my watch and go out at the pace that I needed to feel comfortable. Hopefully not too far ahead of the 3:00 pace group. I figured I would be between 6:40 and 6:50 for the first few miles. I carried a small water bottle filled with Powerbar Endurance Energy Blend Apple/Mango flavor. I call it my "baby food" and I might have quit marathoning without it.
You know when you look forward to long runs just so you can eat your energy blend, you have found your stuff. I might still stop marathoning if they discontinue this flavor because I don't care for the others. I also carried one Gu Roctane (cherry lime) for the final 10k.
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| Mana. |
We found a great parking spot, found the porta potties, got our singlets on and then went over to the bag check area so Evan could meet up with his college buddies. Then we stood forever in another porta potty line by the starting line. After I finally got to get my pre-race pee in, I headed past the starting line for a short, two mile warmup. It was so, so humid. The air was heavy and it started a light rain. The rain only lasted long enough for my shoes to get soggy. After warming up I scooted into corral "A" and stood next to the 3:00 pace group. The guys seemed nice, but were already very talkative. Not good. Next time I run in a race and am near a pace group, I'm calling them out on talking and goofing around. Or maybe I just won't run near them. It was especially bad with this 3:00 pace group and I noticed it more when they passed me at mile 11. Nothing like the misery of a marathon gone wrong to increase your dislike for people who can easily run faster than you. Especially when they seem happy. I'm sure if I my race were going fine I would be less critical!
I didn't wear a watch but did run with Evan and his buddies for nearly 10k, so I heard some splits. I knew we were running in the 6:40s, but it felt fine and I was running a little scared to try to get ahead of pace. I'm sure there are lots of rules about not doing this, no matter what the temps. Right before 10k I realized I was HOT. Hot enough that I needed the aid station cups of water thrown on my face to keep me cool. Unfortunately, there wasn't a continuous aid station the whole length of the race, so I had to wait a mile or so to dump water over my head again. My feet were also hurting and slipping around in my Saucony Type A5s. I love those shoes, but they are not stable when wet. I slowed down to a 7:00 pace here, just as I did at Erie, only that was at mile 14, not mile 7. I told myself that this pace would be fine and I could still pr even if I hit the wall at 23 again. When the 3:00 pace group passed me, I tried to drop to their pace, but it was not happening. It was a motivator that kept me dragging along in their wake until just past half marathon. I was over 3:00 pace at half, but just over. I kind of wish I'd had my watch for that. I thought I was farther off pace. Nevertheless, my legs were quite shot at this point and I took my Gu Roctane 10 miles early to stave off a 16-mile bonk. People were passing me at regular intervals during this time, but no women passed me since the lady in the 3:00 group and Beth Woodward had passed me in the first 10 miles. Beth went on to run 3:03! Crazy admiring of that lady. The 3:05 pace group passed me during the 16th mile and I waved goodbye to my pr. As I approached mile 17 I saw Evan walking up ahead. He was even weaving a bit and when I caught up to him he said he was dehydrated. He hadn't started cramping yet, so I told him to get water and powerade at the next station. I jogged with him to the next station, waited just a bit while he got stuff down and then started jogging with him to the turnaround. The liquids were not hitting his stomach well and he couldn't get up to a run at that point, so I told him I'd for sure see him at the finish and went on ahead. A couple of his buddies were behind him and I figured they would meet up at some point in the coming miles. Sure enough, one of his friends caught him and they were able to run the rest of the race together. Just after I left Evan, I saw Kristy standing with some people on the other side of the 17 mile aid station and she said she was done due to dehydration. I didn't stop for long here, as she was waving me ahead.
Both of these episodes made me approach the rest of the race with a concentrated focus on hydrating. I knew the hardest miles were ahead and it was getting hotter and more humid. I started jogging very slowly through the aid stations, drinking up to two cups of water and a powerade and getting a cup over my head. I dropped my pace to somewhere in the 7:30-7:45 range and it took a long time for the 3:15 pace group to catch me. The 3:10 had passed me while I was walking with Evan, as well as a woman. Another woman passed me at about 22. None of this mattered to me though. I was in survival mode and just focused on getting to the finish as efficiently as possible and in as good shape as possible. I felt pretty good, not great, until 23 miles. I was on the shoreway at this point and into some baby hills. Just as suddenly as Erie, I was DONE. The race needed to be over at that moment, but I still had a massive bridge and 3.2 miles to get through somehow. The people cheering on those bridges were awesome, as were the half marathoners on the other side. I heard a lot of "girl power" shouts and "run little lady" type comments and I tried to acknowledge them as best as I could. I saw a few familiar faces on the course, including Sarah, Rachel and Margaret. After I gave up my pr I tried to concentrate on thanking the volunteers and smiling and waving to spectators. It made me feel a bit better. I walked a few times during both mile 24 and mile 25 but I don't think I did during 26. It was one foot in front of the other by that point, very slowly shuffling to the finish. As I came off the shoreway into downtown the whole atmosphere changed. There was a crowd lined up along the finish line and a guy was there telling me I had 400 yards to go. I immediately started speeding up in response to the crowds and they responded by cheering pretty loudly. It was just as good a feeling to finish here as it was at Erie and I was relieved to see a 3:16 on the clock instead of the 4:00 that I swear I thought I would end up with. After I finished I saw Shari and Kenny off to the side and went to talk to them. I started guzzling water and drinking chocolate milk and was surprised with how good I felt. My legs felt like toast, but the rest of me felt okay. I think I had focused on getting in enough liquids that my body was good, along with the nice jogging 8:00 average that I put out for the second half. I waited until Evan came in and after he had recovered a bit, it was time for the long walk back to the car. We had parked near the starting area, instead of the finish, a mistake I will never make again. Ian and Emily and a few of Evan's friends had driven up later and cheered him along the course. Fortunately, they had parked near where I was parked, so there was just a quick drive to my car to get Evan's stuff and then I was finally on my way home. I felt fine on the way home, but the reality of my crappy race quickly replaced my euphoria over actually finishing. I ran a positive split of 10 minutes more than at Erie. 6:52 for the first half vs 8:03 for the second half. That is worst case scenario as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I got through it, but it was bad. I'm sure I'll have worse races, but this is the worst so far. Even worse than my first half marathon when I was 16. I didn't even know how long a half was then, went out at 1:25 pace and faded to 1:43, with the final three being a death march. The one positive from this is that I am fully recovered one week later and ready to tackle the Medina Half in six days! I'm determined to enjoy that race and run strong, even though they are calling for similar temps and humidity.
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| High school kicker. Not really, just happy to be done! Photo credit: Shari Geiger |
Quick observations: the course is pretty nice. The shoreway was miserable, but I had been warned about that. The aid stations were amazing. There were quite a few spectators and the finish line was well set-up.
Results: http://results.xacte.com/?kw=riteaid
