Welcome To The Suck
6 a.m. Race day. Headed out the door. Rainy, cold. Scrapped the shorts and tank I was planning on wearing. Now going with capri running pants and long sleeve tech shirt under short sleeve tech shirt. Bringing an old running jacket that I won't feel bad if I have to toss.
Here we go.
***
My race recaps are never as good as Rae's over at Running Into A Brick Wall, and I am tired this afternoon, so here is my attempt to cover the marathon today. When we got downtown, it was still really overcast, with a light shower. Nothing I couldn't handle, though. At least it wasn't a driving downpour. That would have really sucked. I waited in line for a port-a-john, and when I finally got one, and did my biz, I had to hurry to the start, which was imminent. There was no waiting around, allowing time for the dread to sink in. GO!
As soon as I started out, I knew that bringing my water bottle belt was a mistake. I have never run a marathon with it, and probably shouldn't have started now. But it was too crowded to do anything about right then. I waited until about mile 3 to take the bottle out, and just carry it. And now, I'll post my splits and add some little diddies to it to make it interesting.
Mile 1 (10:04): Water bottle belt - mistake. Is that my knee that's hurting?
2 (11:18): Still crowded. Too many 10K and half people going out like gangbusters.
3 (10:21): Taking the water bottle out of the belt. Carrying it for now.
4 (10:20): Did I really need this rain jacket? It isn't really raining anymore. Around the waist it goes.
5 (10:20): Getting into a groove, heading west of the city, and into some neighborhoods.
6 (10:33): A fair amount of people braving the cold and wet conditions to cheer.
7 (10:44): Turning back east towards downtown area.
8 (10:28): Racers are starting to thin out, thankfully.
9 (11:22): The clouds start rolling out, and blue sky is opening up.
10 (10:46): Is that the sun? And hey, lookee here, it's TriAl out to cheer people on!
11 (11:18): Over a bridge coming into the city, sunny, great view of the city.
12 (missed this split): This is near where the half people divert off. Not sure how I missed the mile marker.
13 (21:48): Ok, no turning back now. Not quitting. All systems functioning.
14 (13:42): Now begins the long stretch into the eastern part of the city.
15 (11:40): Long boring stretch of road known as Chester Avenue. Not many spectators.
16 (12:12): Rounding the bend onto the campus of Case Western Reserve University.
17 (12:09): Passed the Art Museum, and other cultural landmarks of the city.
18 (13:51): A general feeling of discomfort. Legs are tiring, feet starting to ache.
19 (14:09): A TNT group with bags of pretzels, gummy bears. Grab 2 handfuls, and say THANK YOU!! I needed some gas. I finished my 2 gels, and feel I need nutrition.
20 (12:50): Here's the wall. Only 10K left. I can walk if I need to, but that seems to hurt more. A water stop handing out CarbBoom gels. I grab two.
21 (12:12): Hey!! It's Elizabeth and TriAl again. Woo Hoo. They run with me for a bit, until the next water stop, and the company was just the push I needed. Thanks guys!!! Elizabeth took my picture, I can't wait to see it up on her blog.
22 (12:55): The next few miles take place along the lake. It's windy. Damn windy.
23 (13:11): The lake is rough, choppy, and full of whitecaps. Did I mention how windy it was?
24 (14:56): Getting closer to the city. Rounding up into the city, passed Browns Stadium. Feet are really hurting. Eat my apple cinnamon gel, and pray it doesn't make me sick like the Hammer gels.
25 (13:26): Into the city now. I can't wait to be done. Doing a fair amount of walking, mixed in with my suicide shuffle. A water stop handing out orange slices, and I grab two. Ah.
26 (13:00): Thank God. I see my husband (who finished in 3:38) He grabs the damned water belt, gels, and rain jacket, thankfully, and I keep going.
.2 (02:45): Hey, I see TriSaraTops cheering people as they cross the finish - "Hi Sara!!"
Watch Time: 5:12:32: I didn't come in under 5, which was my goal, but oh well. I feel pretty good this afternoon. I don't feel sick, I feel really sore, but all in all, feel ok. I plan to just walk this week, and do some swimming. I am glad this monster is behind me now...I can just focus on triathlon now!!
An extra big THANK YOU to Elizabeth, TriAl, and TriSara, and all the other bloggers that were out in force cheering and supporting racers today. Seeing you guys made all the difference for me. THANKS!!!
Here we go.
***
My race recaps are never as good as Rae's over at Running Into A Brick Wall, and I am tired this afternoon, so here is my attempt to cover the marathon today. When we got downtown, it was still really overcast, with a light shower. Nothing I couldn't handle, though. At least it wasn't a driving downpour. That would have really sucked. I waited in line for a port-a-john, and when I finally got one, and did my biz, I had to hurry to the start, which was imminent. There was no waiting around, allowing time for the dread to sink in. GO!
As soon as I started out, I knew that bringing my water bottle belt was a mistake. I have never run a marathon with it, and probably shouldn't have started now. But it was too crowded to do anything about right then. I waited until about mile 3 to take the bottle out, and just carry it. And now, I'll post my splits and add some little diddies to it to make it interesting.
Mile 1 (10:04): Water bottle belt - mistake. Is that my knee that's hurting?
2 (11:18): Still crowded. Too many 10K and half people going out like gangbusters.
3 (10:21): Taking the water bottle out of the belt. Carrying it for now.
4 (10:20): Did I really need this rain jacket? It isn't really raining anymore. Around the waist it goes.
5 (10:20): Getting into a groove, heading west of the city, and into some neighborhoods.
6 (10:33): A fair amount of people braving the cold and wet conditions to cheer.
7 (10:44): Turning back east towards downtown area.
8 (10:28): Racers are starting to thin out, thankfully.
9 (11:22): The clouds start rolling out, and blue sky is opening up.
10 (10:46): Is that the sun? And hey, lookee here, it's TriAl out to cheer people on!
11 (11:18): Over a bridge coming into the city, sunny, great view of the city.
12 (missed this split): This is near where the half people divert off. Not sure how I missed the mile marker.
13 (21:48): Ok, no turning back now. Not quitting. All systems functioning.
14 (13:42): Now begins the long stretch into the eastern part of the city.
15 (11:40): Long boring stretch of road known as Chester Avenue. Not many spectators.
16 (12:12): Rounding the bend onto the campus of Case Western Reserve University.
17 (12:09): Passed the Art Museum, and other cultural landmarks of the city.
18 (13:51): A general feeling of discomfort. Legs are tiring, feet starting to ache.
19 (14:09): A TNT group with bags of pretzels, gummy bears. Grab 2 handfuls, and say THANK YOU!! I needed some gas. I finished my 2 gels, and feel I need nutrition.
20 (12:50): Here's the wall. Only 10K left. I can walk if I need to, but that seems to hurt more. A water stop handing out CarbBoom gels. I grab two.
21 (12:12): Hey!! It's Elizabeth and TriAl again. Woo Hoo. They run with me for a bit, until the next water stop, and the company was just the push I needed. Thanks guys!!! Elizabeth took my picture, I can't wait to see it up on her blog.
22 (12:55): The next few miles take place along the lake. It's windy. Damn windy.
23 (13:11): The lake is rough, choppy, and full of whitecaps. Did I mention how windy it was?
24 (14:56): Getting closer to the city. Rounding up into the city, passed Browns Stadium. Feet are really hurting. Eat my apple cinnamon gel, and pray it doesn't make me sick like the Hammer gels.
25 (13:26): Into the city now. I can't wait to be done. Doing a fair amount of walking, mixed in with my suicide shuffle. A water stop handing out orange slices, and I grab two. Ah.
26 (13:00): Thank God. I see my husband (who finished in 3:38) He grabs the damned water belt, gels, and rain jacket, thankfully, and I keep going.
.2 (02:45): Hey, I see TriSaraTops cheering people as they cross the finish - "Hi Sara!!"
Watch Time: 5:12:32: I didn't come in under 5, which was my goal, but oh well. I feel pretty good this afternoon. I don't feel sick, I feel really sore, but all in all, feel ok. I plan to just walk this week, and do some swimming. I am glad this monster is behind me now...I can just focus on triathlon now!!
An extra big THANK YOU to Elizabeth, TriAl, and TriSara, and all the other bloggers that were out in force cheering and supporting racers today. Seeing you guys made all the difference for me. THANKS!!!
21 Comments:
I'll be thinking of you buckeye. Have a great race!
GOOD LUCK Buckeyerunner! I was thinking about you last night, thinking that you were probably getting nervous. you'll be awesome, I know!
GO GO GO!!! I bet you're doing awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, guys!!!
GREAT JOB!!! :) It was fun to see you at the end!!!
WONDERFUL!!! oh thank you for the report i was hanging on every word! you should be so proud and relieved! :D
xo!
neese
wooo hoooo! you did it! and that's all that matters! AWESOME job!!!!
Congratulations Buckeye.
Great job!!! Boy it was tough out there, but you got through it. Congratulations, and have a good recovery.
Congratulations Buckeye! It is nice to have people out there cheering you on and helping you to the finish. Get some rest and relax a bit.
Congrats on your race finish! It's always so hard to keep going through those hard miles, but you did it. The time goal will still be there for the next one.
A big well done! That's amazing... all I can say.
Congratulations, good way to hang in there and get through it! Have a speedy recovery.
no, not welcome to the suck, but welcome to the hard effort put forth in completing a tough marathon. Congratulations!
I got the greatest photo of you! You need to get me your email address so I can send it to you! Leave it in a comment on my blog and I will delete it before it gets posted!
Hey that wind was bad enough to add 12 minutes! You did great!
great job, buckeye. i can't believe i still have yet to meet you...
i missed the 12 mile marker too...think maybe it didn't exist??
what a great accomplishment, you should be very proud of that
well done!
Congratulations on finishing yet another marathon. That's always an achievement, even though you missed your time goal. Take it easy for a while before you tackle the triathlons.
Awesome job!!! It's so great that the bloggers were there to cheer and run with you!!
Get so rest and relax, you've earned it!!!
Good stuff...saw your pic at Elizabeth's blog on mile 21..u look great :).
Your picture is great on Elizabeth's blog!
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