Buckeye Trail 50k - So now I'm an ultrarunner

Goals:
"A" 5:00 and the win
"B" 5:30 and place top 3
"C" finish
Result: 5:25:31 for first female, 12th overall

Only a few pics at this moment. I will add more as they become available.

     My first race ever was a 12k trail race in Engadine, MI It's called the Black Bear 12k and is still held every year on the fourth of July. I was 16 and I ran most of it barefoot and it took me more than an hour to finish. I ended up winning that race a couple times in later years. I started following professional running and at some point I read an article about Ann Trason, the most successful female ultra runner in the sport's history. Inspired by her, I promised myself that I would try an ultra when I got older. At the time it was unusual for someone my age to be running the half marathons and 25ks that I was doing and it never occurred to me to do an ultra at the time. Fast forward to last year, when the 2014 BT50k was happening and I decided I might try for it in 2016 after I got my sub 3:00 marathon. It sounded difficult and technical, my favorite kind of trails. Not fast at all. The slower the times, the tougher the course. These are good runners out there finishing these races. Fast runners. And even they are reduced to 8:00-10:00 pace range. I don't know why but that makes me want to try the race.
     Over the past year I started following professional ultrarunning and kept coming back to the BT50k thought over and over again. I can't make the trip out to Utah to run the Speedgoat 50k (bucket list ultra) or to BC, Canada to run the Squamish 50k but I can run the "cult classic" BT50k right here, less than a half hour drive from my house. I decided not to wait until 2016. I registered right before the Cleveland marathon. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't delay my ultra to continue training for a sub 3:00. There was definitely a risk of me slowing down with trail/ultra training. I worked up a schedule that included trail tempos on the Reagan trails and at least three of the official training runs on the course, up to 25 miles. I started spending more time on the trails starting in early June. I've always been proficient on technical trails and the addition of actual trail shoes had me flying through Reagan and Huffman trails at about 7:30 pace for my tempos. Those were hard workouts! I was only able to make it to two official training runs on the course. The first one was about 17 miles at 10:30 pace and the second one was 20 miles, also at about 10:30 pace. I felt very good on these runs and never had doubts about running the race. There were piles of mud, very steep climbs and descents, creek crossings, logs to jump and very friendly trail runners. I made sure to practice power hiking on the climbs. It works different muscles that have to be built up. The time gained by running the climbs does not benefit a trail runner of my speed as much as saving the energy does. I can kill the flats and downhills, but I submit to the climbs! I may improve on that area in the future but I will continue to work on my hiking technique. I do my best to lean forward and grab the trees around me to pull myself up but as I got tired I started to get sloppy and lean backwards, which caused a loss of momentum. I also started sitting on the logs that I climbed over for a few seconds as I got tired. There wasn't anyone around me to see, but I bet it looked pretty funny.
     I wasn't nervous for this race until I got to the Oak Grove picnic area where the start and finish is staged. I already knew that I was ranked as the first female but I didn't take that into account at all. My plan was to not exert anything more than an easy effort for at least 20 miles. After that, the pure time on my feet would make this race the hardest thing I've ever done. I loved the chill atmosphere at the starting line. No one was keyed up or doing run-outs. Only myself and a couple other guys even warmed up. When you're looking at 31 miles ahead of you, warming up seems silly and I'm pretty sure you'd get laughed off the starting line if you did a run-out. I was definitely nervous lining up next to all the experienced trail runners but I knew once I got out there on the trail I would relax and just focus on keeping a steady pace and not falling. I went out in the top 10 and I think I heard that the first mile was 8:05. The lead pack of men started to fade away and included Mike Ryan and Brian Polen, who I had run the training runs with. This is on very runnable bridle trails, so the pace was fast. Once we dropped onto the Buckeye Trail the mud started and the pace slowed. I traded places back and forth with Kam in these early miles and passed a couple of guys. I hiked the steep climbs from the beginning. On the gradual hills I shortened my stride and "toesed" it to the top. I let myself be pretty reckless on the downs. My favorite downhill section is one with a sharp left turn and a log across it that I have to leap over as I'm coming down at break neck speed. So much fun! My least favorite climbs are the stairs. I'm no good at those. I love the deep mud, even when I'm tired. I run through it fast, on my toes and feel sort of like I'm walking on water. I also love the smell of the swamp mud, so the bog of despair is not such a bad place for me. My all time favorite part of the course is the runnable section before and after the Snowville aid station. There are creek crossings, which I love and I like the winding smoothness of the trail. The section before the Peninsula aid station is also a favorite. I did not like coming out of the woods. As the race went on I started feeling like a vampire, not wanting to come out in the sunlight. I booked it through the aid stations for this reason. Just wanted to get back into the cool woods! Too bad because the aid station volunteers were amazing. Friendly and quick.

Getting close to the first aid station (mile 6).

     As I neared the turn around, a very experienced ultrarunner named Steve joined me and I ran with him from about mile 12 to mile 22. We didn't talk much but I tried to observe and copy his rythm on trail. He obviously knew the surfaces like the back of his hand and made very smooth transitions. We went through the first Peninsula aid station, the turnaround and the second Peninsula aid station together. He said that I should be able to drop him in the later miles and to try and pick people off in the last 6 miles. I did not think I would be that strong in the later miles of the race but I took his advice to heart. In the later miles I ran as many of the climbs as I could, tiptoeing to the top. I was staying on top my nutrition, with one Powerbar Endurance Formula pack, one cup of Tailwind and one endurolyte tablet at every aid station. I went through my whole handheld of water between aid stations. After the second Peninsula aid station at about mile 21, I started to pick up the pace a bit and left Steve behind for the time being. This was my favorite part of the race and honestly some of the best running of my life. I felt great, trucking along at about a 10:00 average and completely forgetting that this was a race. I had Twenty One Pilots' "Tear in my heart" stuck in my head and even started singing it a couple of times. No one around to hear! I came into the Snowville aid station in good spirits and ready to enter "ultra territory." I made a big mistake in this aid station. I had run out of my own nutrition so I tried to load up on enough calories to make it through the next six miles. Not sure why it didn't occur to me to grab a gu and take it with me! I drank a tailwind, two cups of coke and got down my last endurolyte tablet. I thanked the volunteers and jogged out of the aid station only to be stopped in my tracks by a confusing puddle in front of me. I literally did not know how I was going to get through it. This was a very small stream that I simply had to hop over and climb up the bank, but my mind had stopped working. I was feeling light-headed and had to stop and stand in the puddle for a few seconds to get the world to stop spinning. Blood sugar spike! I had to walk for a few minutes as the sugar rush settled down. Then I started feeling great and ran a pretty good pace for the next few miles, including the bog of despair section. The ultra term "Relentless forward progress" is real and I was achieving it during this stretch. I started feeling warning signs of a bonk around 28 miles. My mind started going blank on how many miles might be left. Couldn't figure the distance out for the life of me. I'm not sure if I could have told you that I was racing a 50k that day. I just felt like I would be going through the woods alone forever with nothing to eat. Did I mention I was starving? I started fantasizing about a hamburger and french fries and if someone had handed me a big mac, I would have munched on it as I ran along the trail. I came out of the Buckeye Trail onto the bridle trails and saw Kam ahead. "Oh, I raced him in the beginning and now I'm going to catch him," was my thought. And then, crash. I stopped dead in my tracks and couldn't fathom moving ahead one more step. Blood sugar crash. The worst of my life. I'm lucky I didn't pass out. There were moments when I had to stop and stand to keep that from happening. I kept moving forward at a snail's pace, even though I told myself that I was "power hiking." It isn't power hiking when you're on flat, runnable bridle paths. As I walked along I kept an eye out for the orange trail markers to make sure I stayed on the path. It would take me a few seconds to focus in on them. My vision was going. I had the most irresistible urge to stop and take a nap on the side of the path. I was also looking out for something, anything to eat. I eyed a couple of squirrels. Where are all the black raspberries when you need them? Somewhere in the 31st mile, Steve and another guy caught me. I was terribly jealous of their ability to run. They would be eating before me. I even tried to jog after them for a few strides before slowing back to a walk. Another guy passed me and stopped briefly to ask if I was okay.
"Not really. How many miles are left?"

He answered that we were within half a mile. In my current state I still wasn't sure how far that meant. He handed me his used gu pack before running ahead and I was able to get a few drops of gu out of it. Within 30 seconds my blood sugar went up and I started jogging. I crossed the road to the all purpose path and the "finisher bell" started ringing. I suddenly felt great and started running at a pretty good clip up to the finish. Margaret was there cheering me in and I was smiling. I wondered during the race if I would cry after I finished but nope, just happy and ready to eat a horse. I went and laid down on the grass just past the finish, fully intending to take a nap right there. David, the men's winner came over to me and said I should sit up. That was probably a good idea. A very nice lady went and got a sports drink for me and as soon as I drank it I felt great. I will never make the mistake of not carrying calories with me late in an ultra. Now that I know this about my body I'm going to have to work around it. I went and got some food and waited while many more finishers and three more women came in. This was closing in on the 6:00 mark and I needed to get home to the kids, so I decided to leave. I will be back for the race next year, but hopefully back on those trails long before then.

About 200 meters from becoming an ultrarunner. Photo credit: Margaret Zayas

Some recovery notes: trails are amazingly easy on the muscles. I had minimal soreness the following morning and 36 hours after the race I feel completely recovered. Running easy for a few days and then starting Akron Marathon training next week!

Oof. I can stop for real? Photo credit: Vertical Runner

The song in my head for 50k: "Tear in my heart" by twenty one pilots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nky4me4NP70

Results:    
https://www.westernreserveracing.com/race-results/2015BT5O.htm

Twin Sizzler 5k - Finally

Goal: 5k pr (18:44) and race ladies around me
Result: 18:20 for first female

     The 5k has long been my nemesis. My body does not appreciate faster speeds and I seem to have an especially strong central governor that will shut down my pace without me even knowing it. Alright, lets call it what it is. I'm a little lazy. Half marathon/marathon pace doesn't hurt and I would prefer to not hurt. I've run something like a couple dozen 5ks on the road and the track in the 19:30 to 20:30 range and never have I felt like I pulled off an even paced, honest effort. Most of my college races were reluctant attempts to stick to an embarrassingly modest lap pace that I would back off of as soon as the second mile boredom/dread set in. My thoughts went sort of like this: "I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. Fuck you lap times. I don't care." Workout after workout would predict a high 18 to low 19 5k but those times never happened. Similarly, I've been doing weekly track workouts for the past year that predict a low 18 5k but with the several attempts I have put out, 18:44 is the best I've been able to clock.
     Going into the annual Twin Sizzler 5k I knew I needed an 18:20 to pr on the short course. As it turned out, the course is not very short this year since they backed up the starting line. About 3.09 instead of last year's 3.05. I did not consider that I might be trying for the win but I thought second or third would be doable. I knew there would be someone around me to race. This 5k usually brings out the local fasties!
     I was terribly nervous about this race. Local races are fun but the nerves do me in beforehand. Felt pretty sick and antsy hanging out at Second Sole beforehand. Did my warmup and drills on the same route that I used for the Medina Half. The one bright spot, literally, were my beautiful new Saucony Endorphin Racers. They are elite road racing shoes with a super light upper and slim sole. They will only be pulled out for mile and 5k races so they don't get torn up. They feel good, but it is all about the looks with them. I need to coordinate an outfit for them for my road mile race in August.
     I lined up in the third row behind all the speedy guys. I didn't want to go out too fast. Dylan and Ian were in the front row and they ended up in the 15:30s and 15:50s. I don't need to be anywhere near them at the start! The first 400 meters were quite relaxed for me. I settled into a pace that felt reasonable, but there were no other women ahead of me. I was disconcerted by this, but knew I was not running too fast. After about a half mile, Jillian from Ashland University pulled up beside me. "Okay, lets race," is the thought that I have when this happens. I don't say anything of course. I immediately picked up the pace and pulled ahead but she did not go with me. She was breathing pretty heavily and we were on the uphill. I went through the mile in 5:53 and felt comfortable. Some Buckeye kids were reading off the splits and I waved at them as I went by. Turned into the neighborhoods and tried to keep up the pace but I certainly slowed for the second mile. I went through the 2 mile in 12:00 flat. I felt okay at this point, but not nearly as comfortable. Fortunately there is a huge downhill in the third mile, leading to the uphill on the square. I knew I was running somewhere in the 5:50s at that point. At the sharp right turn down the brick road section I looked behind me and far behind was the second girl. I backed off the pace just a bit, since I was feeling rough. The true 5k pain didn't hit until I started up the hill to the square. I felt like my legs were churning as fast as I could but I was going nowhere. I got a little panicky that the second girl might catch me. As I came in sight of the clock I could hardly believe that there was a 17 on it still. I've never seen that number at the end of a 5k. I made it in at 18:20 and did a celebratory fist pump for my time. I was purely happy after this race. This time puts me firmly in the sub 3:00 marathon range. I have the speed in my legs to run a 2:xx 26.2 and I plan on making it happen.

I was a little excited. Photo credit: John J. McCarroll

Results:
https://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-12626?entryID=15915503&interval_time=1368590&fb_ref=Default

2015 Active Runner 10 for Them 10 Miler

Goal: race for the win
Result: 1:06:14 for first female and third overall

     I wasn't originally going to race this race but Randy from Active Runner asked me to come run it about a month before and knowing that it was going to be a well-organized, fun, hilly race for a good cause, I agreed. This wasn't going to be much of a social event. I wanted to get there, race, see a few peeps and get home. But then Margaret said she was racing and then a few other MCRR peeps said they were running it, so I knew that there would be a bunch of familiar faces out there. Also, Mike Ryan, who I had run with on the Buckeye Trail 20 mile training run was going to be there. On the drive there the rain was coming down hard and I was suddenly nervous. I was pretty sure I would be going for the win and no matter how small the race, I get nervous about that.
     This was the inaugural year for 10 for Them and featured just the 10 mile distance. The unique point to point course started in Strongsville at the Pat Catan stadium and ended in Brunswick on the high school track. The course was incredibly well-marked with many volunteers along the way and cones set in place to keep the runners safe from cars. Good energy too! I liked the loud music at the start and finish. The course was moderately hilly, with a net uphill to the seven mile mark and then a net downhill to the finish.
     At the bib pick-up I met up with Margaret and we did a quick two mile warmup in the driving rain. It was plain down-pouring by then and it didn't let up the entire race. I also did a few half-hearted drills underneath the grandstand. We mainly talked about how difficult it would be to achieve prs in this weather and on this course. These are the days that you don't look at the watch and just race! Good thing, because I wasn't even wearing one. And I knew I would have to race. Tracy Meder was standing on the starting line. This would be the third time I raced her. At Circle City Mile I beat her by one second and at Erie Marathon last year I was just 20 seconds ahead of her. This wasn't going to be a cakewalk.

And go! Beat the boys. Well, all but two of them. Photo Credit: The Medina Post

     I started fast, as usual, and was ahead of the lead guys for about 400 meters. I gradually slowed down and Mike and Ryan pulled ahead of me. No one else passed me for the rest of the race. I think this is the first time that has happened. The first two miles were really uneventful. I was going about 6:30 pace I would say, and feeling very comfortable. About half marathon effort. I looked behind me at about 3 miles and realized Tracy was right behind me. Alright, time to race. I told myself that if she didn't catch me by 7 miles that I would be fine after that. There were many turns and rolling hills for those first 7 miles. There were also rivers of water flowing down the roads and wide puddles that I had to either maneuver around or wade through. I tried to stay smooth, hold a good form and work hard on the hills. I still kept the effort in check though. I wanted to be able to go after it in the final miles. Tracy seemed to match every effort I put out, but she didn't close the gap. The volunteers were amazing. Honestly, I love race volunteers. They are so friendly and helpful and make the general unpleasantness of racing a bit more tolerable. I accepted a Carb Boom! from one them at about 6 miles and took it right before the 6.5 mile aid station. The soreness and aching in my legs subsided after I took it. Side-effects of racing on high mileage!

Early miles. Saturated! Photo Credit: Crystal Yohman

     I skipped the 8 mile aid station and did my best to get going a bit. There was one more small hill leading into the 9 mile marker and after I hit that, I started a far-out kick for the finish. I'm not sure of my final mile time but my guess was that it was in the 6 teens. Most of my miles were probably in the 6:40s. It was fun to run the final stretch to the finish around the track. After I finished I waited for Tracy to come in and thanked her for pushing me to a faster time. No way I would have worked that hard if she hadn't been there. Margaret was third in 1:09! I started feeling tired, hungry and freezing soon after I finished and decided to head back to the start. I thought that the awards were being held there, but I was mistaken and ended up missing the official awards. I felt bad about that! Fellow MCRR, Cameron was kind enough to let me follow him back to the Brunswick stadium to pick up my award. I hope they hold this race again next year!
Results: https://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-11308

2015 Second Sole Midnight Mile

Goal: 5:20-5:30 and race!
Result: 5:31 and fourth female

     Not going to lie, I was dreading this race. 50k training does not lend itself to a fast mile pace. And I wouldn't say that midnight is my best time to run. Best time to snore into a pillow, yes, race an all out mile? No. I was going to need several late-night coffees. But I was driving there with some fun running buddies: Evan, Ian and Dylan and I was looking forward to seeing the Boardman store for the first time. I also skipped out on the Youngstown 10 miler to go to Colorado, so I felt quite obligated to race.
     The week before, Dylan had kindly paced me in a 0.75 mile time trial on the roads. It was a typical mile effort for me. Starting at about 4:50 pace and slowing down into my mile pace by about 300 meters. I had 0.76 in 4:00 minutes for a 5:15 pace. I figured that my goal of 5:20-5:30 would be attainable. My road mile pr was from last year at the Circle City Mile (5:36).
     The road trip-type atmosphere of driving out there was pretty fun. These are cool guys to hang out with and love running just as much as I do. We got to the Second Sole Boardman location with plenty of time to spare and stored our stuff in the back room with the rest of the Second Sole employees. At 11 p.m. sharp we started our warmup. I saw that Samantha was racing and knew that she would be winning for the women. She ran a 5:01 here last year. We warmed up on the course and realized it was dark, with several sharp turns and a very uneven road surface. I went back to the store to get my singlet on, put on my Saucony Virratas and do a couple of pre-race pees and then went back out to the parking lot to do my drills and strides. Having already downed a slushy and popcorn, Evan decided to hop in the race and joined us in drills and strides and pre-race nerves. By this point I had given myself over to debilitating nerves and just wanted the god damned race to be over. Can I just run a half marathon already?
     I got to the starting line with about 10 minutes to spare and jogged a bit more. I also did five run-outs from the starting line. I saw that besides Samantha there were two Second Sole ladies there. I couldn't be sure if they were the two that went 5:15 and 5:24 the year before, but they looked very competent and I decided to try and go with them. I stood right behind them and Samantha at the starting line in the second row of people. The fastest guys were all in the first row. The race took off and the Second Sole girls (their names are Molly and Sara) took off at what seemed like a completely unreasonable pace. Never before have I felt so out of my element, uncomfortable and just plain tired than those first 400 meters. The three top ladies were fast fading from my view and there was nothing I could do about it. I was moving forward as fast as I could. I passed a bunch of too fast starting men and settled into a rythm that was kindly pumping lactic acid into my muscles. I hit the half mile with a young girl hot on my heels in 2:42, possibly 2:44 by the time I passed the clock. This wasn't quite as fast as I wanted at the half but the chick passing me on my right was occupying my mind more than the clock. No, I was not going to get outkicked AND not run the time I wanted. I stayed on her heels for about 200 meters and then she started to die hard. I went around her and took the hard right turn to the final 400 meters. For some reason I couldn't see the finish line. It was dark and the flashing lights of the police just past the finish provided a blinding backdrop. So I didn't kick all that hard, not sure when the finish line was coming up. I nearly slammed into the back of the guy that finished ahead of me, standing in the queue. I was hoping that I'd made it in under 5:30 but no such luck. Possibly with automatic timing I would have been 5:29, but it is what it is.

Scoring a pic with the owner of Second Sole, Steve Hixon! Photo credit: Boardman Athletics

     As usual, I was happy and relieved after the race. Glad to be done and ready to relax. I cooled down with Evan and Ian, who had both run good times. We waited for the awards to start and met a bunch of Second Sole employees that we had only known over the phone, asking for shoe shipments! I introduced myself to Molly and Sara and asked them what they were currently training for. They probably thought I was over-curious and crazy. I felt a bit of kinship towards them...maybe just because they are small and dark-haired? My post-race brain function is never the best. I was fourth female and first in my 30-34 age group. We started on the road back to Medina before 2 a.m. and made a food stop at Steak N Shake. I was starving and the taco salad that I chose hit the spot. I think we were the only sober customers in the place. I finally got home just after 3 a.m. The last few miles into Medina I was struggling hard but after I got home I had a difficult time settling into bed. Probably should have saved my shower for the morning but I hate going to bed sticky with sweat and salt! Planning on at least one more mile race on the roads this summer. I may be focusing exclusively on the mile for the indoor season. It makes no sense but I want that 5 teens mile. If I see a 5:19 or under this indoor season, I swear I will never run a track mile again.
Results: http://media.wix.com/ugd/aa0c98_585c79bd06b54ea98fac9554d34865e0.pdf

2015 Medina Half Marathon

Goal: A - 1:25 B - 1:27 C - 1:29
Result: 1:27:14 (2nd female, 10th overall)

     First things first, this is the funnest, most efficiently run local race that I've ever participated in. And they are only in their second official year! The race directors work year-round to keep sponsors coming in, the city and law enforcement involved and are continuing to update the course as better routes become available. Next year the course will be amazing with the addition of the Buckeye Trail section. I can't wait for that!
     I hadn't originally planned to run the 2015 version of the Medina Half Marathon, since it would take place just 13 days after the Cleveland Marathon. I was going to volunteer before and during the race as it is a Medina County Road Runners event. A few months ago, Beth, the world's best race director, asked me if I wanted to run it and honestly, I really did want to. Last year it was my goal spring race and I love being able to jog up to the square and race in such a low-key atmosphere. I ran a 1:32 mid for a lifetime half marathon pr. It was a turning point in my running, where I realized I might be capable of a 3:00 marathon in the near future. The course was different for 2015 and included plenty of hills and many sharp turns in the later miles. Despite this, I found that I enjoyed the course during an early May training run with Speedy Pete, Bob Jones and an amazingly fast masters runner, Margaret. We ran 1:35:58 on that training run and I knew that my time this year would be much faster than last year. I figured that a pr would be a bit out of reach, but I should expect something between 1:25 and 1:29.
     The night before the race it was so hot that I slept without blankets for the first time this year. We had all of our windows open, trying to get some breeze in. It did finally go down into the 60s as dawn closed in, but the air was thick. I wasn't too worried about the temps or humidity. The day before it was 85 degrees during my shakeout run and I was loving it. Bring on the heat of summer! So much better than the threatened hypothermia that I experienced on nearly every Cleveland Marathon training run.  The one little glitch to racing this was that I was due to catch the bus from Buckeye High School to the DII Regional meet in Lexington at 9 a.m. We had five kids competing on Saturday, including four distance studs who ran the races of their lives to make it to this meet. So I calculated that with the race starting at 6:45, I would hopefully be done by 8:15, have time to change at Second Sole really quick and then book it to bus. My plan worked almost perfectly and I even gave myself a few extra minutes by meeting my "B" time goal. The one thing that I did not plan was post-race snackage and I ended up being a very bad example to my track kids by scarfing down a chili-dog, a huge turtle sundae and a pepsi after the meet. When I was done with that it was all I could do to keep from going back and ordering more. It is not advisable to wait eight hours after racing a half marathon to eat. The bad choices did not end there. I ate a sushi roll, french fries and a big mac later that night. Perhaps I was a bit sodium deprived from the race and sweating through the hot meet? Not anymore. I'm pretty sure all that salt and fat is still seeping out my pores three days later.
     Anyway, back to the race. Second Sole was open and Joanie and Dylan were holding down the fort. I was able to use the bathroom there for my pre-race pee. I warmed up around the area, seeing a lot of familiar faces along the way and even did some drills in the back parking lot. A few minutes before the 6:45 start I made my way to the starting line. I knew almost everyone up there on the front line and looking behind me were more familiar faces. Last year I was afraid to stand in front of the 1:30 pace group. This year I boldly stated to Margaret that I would go out ahead of that. I wasn't wearing a watch and with the downhill first mile and my history of reckless starts, mile one was going to be fast. After the mayor started the race, I tucked in behind a group that included Patrick, Evan and Ian. I heard someone behind me shout "Let her go!" Ha! Sounded like a warning!

Ready, set, go! Wait, check the watches.

          I realized I was going a little too fast within about 400 meters and backed off the front group. I smoothed out to what felt like 6:15 pace, but was probably just under 6:00 pace. Not sure of the exact time on my first mile, but it was most likely under 6:00. I felt fine, but once the course flattened out I fell into what felt like a natural rythm and Chelsea Oswald began to creep up on me. She was never far behind and by the time we hit the hills on Reagan Parkway, she was just steps behind me. At first I was very motivated to surge and try to stay ahead of her. I told myself that I should fight for it because I was lead female and that is what lead females do. Within about a quarter of a mile I decided that the pace felt too fast and let her pull ahead. Reality was that she had been running faster than me for all but the first mile and going with her would mean approaching oxygen debt long before the end of the race. This is the price of going out fast. You do eventually get caught. I was pretty down on myself as we turned into Lake Medina and got onto the gravel path. She was steadily pulling ahead, running an even 6:20 pace and I had fallen into about a 6:45 rythm. It took me about a mile to mentally let it go and focus on staying smooth, getting enough water at the water stops and targeting the male runner ahead of me. This guy and I traded spots throughout the race and I ended up out-kicking him in the end. I felt strong up the route 18 hills, but then started struggling as we neared the 7 mile mark. I think I waited a little too long to take my Gu Roctane Cherry/Lime and muscle fatigue was setting in. My legs felt sore and heavy. There were two ladies creeping up on me, one of whom was Teresa Ferguson, a very fast masters runner who had won the Football Hall of Fame Marathon just a few weeks before in 3:05. The other lady, who eventually dropped back a bit, was a local girl who won the 1500 meter title at GLIAC this year and qualified for DII nationals. In the next few miles I disobeyed my rule of "no looking back" many times as Teresa gradually gained on me. I surged around the sharp turns and on the downhills and just tried to stay smooth on the flat and uphills. At one point, near the 10 mile mark I was so mentally drained from her chasing me that I just wanted her to get it over with. As I neared 11 miles though, my gu really kicked in and I started feeling great. From there to the finish I passed three guys and nearly caught another one. I saw so many familiar MCRR faces and they all cheered as I went by. I started to put a little space between Teresa and I and hit the 12 mile mark with a "comfortable" 15 second cushion. Bring on the downhill! I kicked it in a little too conservatively in this final mile and after I finished I felt a bit too good. Much more left in the tank. I ended up focusing more on racing Teresa and just staying ahead of her than on giving it all to the finish, but that isn't such a bad thing. When you don't wear a watch, you focus more on the people around you and simply racing them. What I need to work on is being willing to race earlier and trusting that I'll be okay later on. It was pretty cool to come up to the finish and I tried to sprint it in with good form so I would look badass in the finish line photos. Because that's what counts, you know. I looked pretty pathetic last year with my poor, limping, bare feet!

Me finishing the 2014 Medina Half in 1:32:28. Photo credit: Black and White Services LLC

     After I finished I talked to the female winner, who has an amazingly fast track resume that includes an SEC championship title and a sub 16:00 5000 meters. She is from Medina, but lives in Columbus and trains with the Columbus Running Company. Future Olympic marathon trials qualifier there, I am sure of it! Teresa and I thanked each other for pushing each other to faster times than expected on that tough course and I talked to Ian and Evan and even attempted cooling down with them until we decided that a cool-down wasn't necessary. Margaret finished fifth female and first masters and I talked with her and Bob really quick before I had to get back to Second Sole, get changed and drive up to Buckeye. I managed to wash my face in the girl's locker room there, but spent the rest of the day soaked in sweat and salt from my race. It was totally worth it! 

Finishing the 2015 Medina Half. In shoes. Photo credit: Black and White Services LLC

2015 Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon

Goal: 2:57-3:05
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.

Mana.

     I drove up to the race with Evan, another running buddy extraordinaire. It was his first marathon and he was nervous. I was too, but not overly so. I was feeling a little lethargic but still light on my feet from the taper. I was worried that I was up about 10 pounds from when I ran Erie. I kept telling myself that it was fine, since I was quite a bit underweight when I ran that. I'm closer to a healthy weight right now. Still easy to get in your own head with things like that.
     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.

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

The Big 100

     I said in my last post that I was not going to build my mileage higher than 80 for the coming weeks. I lied. Actually, I didn't try to get more miles in, they just seemed to happen. I'm blaming the excellent weather. All of the sudden it is fun to run again and a 12 miler feels like nothing. After my fourth and final Cleveland 20 miler today, I have my first 100 mile week. I feel tired, but totally healthy after putting in these miles and I'm ready to keep myself in the 90-100 range for next week. On Friday I will be leaving for a mini-vaca in Colorado! When I come back I will probably run the local Run.4.Fun 5k put on by Medina City Schools, one shorter long run on the Cleveland course and then it is Cleveland Marathon time. After finding myself comfortable with higher mileage, I've also decided to scrap my 5k training plan for June and train for the Buckeye Trail 50k in July. Once again, I'm straying from my 2015 plan, which did not include a 50k, but I really want to do this, so I probably will. I was nervous about hitting this mileage all day yesterday, even wondering what I would do if I got hurt during the long run and couldn't meet the goal. I was pretty emotional for the last few miles of the run and on the final half mile stretch up to my house I was smiling at everyone out walking their dogs and driving by. I probably looked like a small, sweaty, insane woman. On to next week!

                            Adrian wanted to be in my pre-long run pic. Cutest mini-me ever.

     Here is my 100 mile week, transferred from my log:

Monday: 4 miles easy

Tuesday: a.m. - 7 miles total, one mile repeat (6:10) before escaping downpour
               p.m. - 3.5 with track girls

Wednesday: a.m. - 4x1600 (5:58, 6:08, 6:06, 6:06) 1x800 (3:00) 10 miles total
                    p.m. - 4 miles easy after track meet

Thursday: a.m. - 12 miles in 1:31
                 p.m. - 7 miles easy

Friday: a.m. - 4 miles easy. Body felt wrecked.
             p.m. - paced 3x500 at about 5:40 pace for track girls and did 5 mile marathon pace tempo at 6:49 pace. 13 miles total

Saturday: Medina Half run plus to and from square for 15 miles

Sunday: 20.5 in 2:34:37