I did it! A PR ... almost 2 minutes shaved off my previous best set 2 years ago. This was an almost perfect run for me, and I'm very happy with my results.
First, my splits: I ran 6:59 6:59 6:54 6:54 6:48 7:00 6:57 6:52 6:57 6:52 6:56 7:40 7:10 My final split was 2:13 run at a pace of 6:35.
The pacers in this race were phenomenol. My hats off to them ... there were two in my group (3:05 marathon; 7:03 pace), and they brought this home for me. A large number of runners in this group.
Okay, the blow by blow:
I drove from Sudbury to Grimsby on Friday. 5 hour drive. Expected a good night's sleep - didn't happen, as there was a party going on somewhere in the hotel and it kept me up pretty much all night.
Drove to Cleveland the next day. It had rained hard there all week, but the forecast for Sunday was sun. Very nice hotel just a few blocks from the starting line. After a 4 hour drive, I checked in and then took the shuttle to the expo. Spent an hour or two there, and picked up some Ghost 6's at a great price, as well as a bunch of gels. No Sayonara's for sale anywhere, so will have to get those elsewhere (ended up buying them in Chicago a few days after - I will run my Hamilton Marathon in these).
Back to the hotel, and then walked to the Cathedral for Mass. I don't often get to sit through those as a parishioner, rather than as a priest/celebrant, so that was a nice treat. Afterwards, back to the hotel for the pasta dinner. That wasn't worth the price, but it was in my hotel and so very convenient. And I actually slept well that night. Went for a walk before sunset to see the start/finish lines.
Woke up at 4:15 and ate a plain bagel. Planned on adding peanut butter, but just couldn't stomach it at that hour. Had my normal coffee (2 cups) and then a banana at 6:00am. Temperature was 2 C or 36 F. Hmm, same as my training. Hadn't anticipated that, but good from my perspective. Decided to wear a short sleaved shirt and my long running pants. Also gloves.
Left the hotel at 6:30 and right away wondered if I was over dressed. A LOT of runners wearing just shorts. I walked one block towards the starting line, and decided to change. The wind was not strong, and it felt warmer than it was. So, I went back to my room and changed into my running shorts (tights) and made my way to Corral 'A', just behind the elites where the 3:05 marathon pace group was standing. That change ended up being a good decision, as it got quite warm later on.
20 000 runners ... Full, Half, and 10km combined. A beautiful morning as the sun came up. It was cold, and I was glad for my gloves, but I knew I'd be ditching them at some point. I had 2 gels (GU) with me, and 3 PowerBar GelBlasts. The gloves actually work well with these, as they just sit in the palm of my hands.
I ate the 1st GU 15 minutes before 7am, and drank my last water. Worked well for me. The race was delayed until 7:05 for some reason, but after all the normal talks and anthoms, we were on our way. I was cold up until then, but fine after.
From here on in, I stuck like glue to the pacers. I have never been in a race that was so crowded! I expected this for the 1st 2 miles, but it was quite crowded right up until mile 10 when the marathoners and halfers split apart. It made for some minor jostling, and the occasional "sorry about that" as arms collided, and you really had to focus on not stepping on someone's feet. The real disadvantage of that was not being able to see the road very far in advance. I was worried about Cleveland's reputation for potholes. Turns out, that fear was overblown. Although there are the normal potholes you'd see in any major city, they were nothing like I have in my home town. Still, when appeared, I had very little time to see and avoid them, and so I had to be conscious of that.
Anyway, the splits were under the goal pace of 7:03. I didn't see the 1st mile marker, but the topic of conversation was that it seemed to be quite a bit further out than it should have been (by 2/10ths of a mile). That theme continued in conversation, I noticed ... everyone seemed to agree that the 1st mile was longer than a mile. But hey, it was a certified course, so you have to go with it. I was careful to run the tangents, as there are a fair number of turns in the course, but it's hard to do that well with so many people running.
As I said, I was so grateful to the pacers. They really kept me where I needed to be. I even was able to get a drink of water from one when I missed the water station. Cheers to them! Passed the "Beer2O" station without taking one, but sure remembered when I did in Detroit 2 years ago when I tore my Achilles Tendon and was limping to the finish line.
Took my 1st chew at mile 3, and my second chew at mile 5. Decided to go with the chew again at mile 6 and ditched my running gloves at this point. And I was SO grateful for not being in long running pants at this time. I then opened my gel at mile 7 and nursed it for 2 miles. My stomach was never really an issue, and I had enough energy throughout this race.
We halfers split off from the full marathon group at mile 9.5. I wondered if I would be able to keep this pace without the pacers. I did, actually, for mile 11, but WOW - mile 12 sucked! Now I'm on the expressway. It's a LONG uphill. It's hot and I'm breathing heavy for the first time. I am pretty sure, at this point, of getting a PR, so I just relax and focus. There's actually 3 hills, here, and it sure does take a lot out of you at this point. However, having walked the finish line the night before, I know the last half mile is downhill, and that thought urges me onward.
On the downramp. My GPS tells me I've run 13.1 miles already, but the finish line is still ahead 200 meters. The spectators yell "sprint to the finish!" It's funny ... I know I can ... I still have it in me ... but I decide to finish with a steady pace. I don't want to finish depleted - just satisfied. And I am. It was a very good race for me. Almost 2 years since my last PR, and with a significant injury in between, and I am able to finish strong and healthy. I'm happy!
It's a very nice day now, with lots of spectators and a high level of energy. The post run snacks are superb, and the finishers medal is unique - spinning guitar. There's a post run party in a grassy area, and I have a free drink tab on my bib, so I grab my beer here and try to enjoy it. My stomach won't let me, however, and I end up dumping most of it after attempting a few sips.
After a while, even with the foil warming blanket and the sun, I start to shiver. I guess because I'm wet with sweat. So, I make my way back to my hotel room to shower. I'm off to see the Cleveland Indians play ball this afternoon, so I figure I'll enjoy a beer and an afternoon in the sun there - which is exactly what I end up doing.
My results are posted fairly quickly - that night. I'm 11th in my age group out of 320. I'm the 116th male out of 2525. I finish 128th over all, out of 6113 runners. So, I'm in the top 2% overall, in the top 4.6% of the men, and in the top 3.5% of my age group.
I'm pleased with this result, and it gives me the confidence I wanted going into my marathon training program starting in July. I have a few races I want to do in June: a 10k (will shoot for a new PR), the "Miner's Mahem" (a local obstacle course through mud, wire, walls, etc), and a 5k in my home town of Lively (I've never run a 5k before, so that WILL be a PR for me!).
On the injury side of things - nothing to report, I'm happy to say. My iliopsoas was nagging me, but never yelling at me. And my right hamstrings/glutes were not really noticeable (until the next day!). Those areas will give my massage therapist something to work at on Monday when I see her for an hour.
One last note: the experience of running with my Garmin was eye opening for me. According to it, my splits were 4 seconds faster than my goal, and yet I finished officially with splits 3 seconds slower than my goal. A 7 second variance. I'm glad to have seen this, however, as I'll need to be aware of it during my Marathon in November. A variance of that much translates to 3 minutes over the Marathon distance, which could impact my BQ time. I
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