I'm a Cleveland Marathoner! ... Sort of...

As we all know, in my last post I was mildy freaking about participating in The Cleveland Marathon's 10k race last Sunday.  Well, with all said and done...

I rocked it!  

Despite the heat (way too hot for a 7:30AM start!), a couple of walk breaks, and mis-judging the finish and pushing just a tad too hard too soon - I crossed the finish line in 1:24:27.  (I had a goal of finishing in 1:30, so, yeah!)

Victory Arms may have been the only thing
 keeping me from passing out right than.
Photos from JPH 2012

I PR'ed!

(by default, but come on, a PR is a PR, right?!)

Check out my full recap below (because what is a race without a recap?):

I cannot say I was a complete nervous wreck Saturday.  Coming home from NY the day before, I had plenty to do to keep my mind off of the race.  While I did cancel plans with some friends that day (forgive me, but I just needed some "me" time), I kept busy with catching up on house stuff, laundry and heading to the expo to pick up my gear.

I heard alot of chatter on the interwebs about paying for parking at the IX Center for packet pick-up.  I had no problem paying as I planned to walk around and check everything out once I got in there (being my first race expo and all).  And I will say, there were many people making their own spots that were not "just running in" to get their packets.  I was there for over 45 minutes, and the same cars that made their own spots outside of the lot seemed to have still been there when I left.  I am not saying it was right or wrong, I personally felt better just paying the parking.  For future, perhaps the Cleveland Marathon could make an arrangement for a lesser parking fee since some are only running in, and most are only spending about an hour there.

The expo itself seemed pretty organized.  I got there around noon, and had my bib and bag in hand within 10 minutes of entering.  I was not impressed with the bag, "goodies" or T-shirt AT ALL.  I have paid less for a 5k, and received a tech shirt AND a cloth drawstring back sack.  Those items might have made up for the lack of swag in the rite aid grocery bag I was given.  I am not sure the difference in what the 1/2 and full'ers received, but again, I refer you to my statement above about previous 5k's.

I enjoyed checking out all of the booths - but thought it seemed kind of small for such a large race.  I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the expo, as again, this was the first I ever attended so I have nothing to compare to.

I had a nervous moment Saturday evening while eating dinner with my husband.  He asked why I was so nervous (curious as to what was making me so nervous, not being facetious).  I told him "I don't want to get out there and blow it."  He looked and me and said "You know you are not going to win it, so just go and have fun."  It was JUST what I needed to hear at exactly the right moment. I was not going to win - and I knew that (he knows that too, as I had to explain to him once exactly what my pace is in relation to the people that win these kinds of races - so again, he was not being hateful when he reminded me of this).  As I went to close my eyes that night, I told myself, "Tomorrow, you are going to go out there and have a fun race.  Walk breaks and all."

I slept the best I have the night before a race ever!

5:00AM comes VERY early no matter what time you hit the pillow.  I snoozed for about 5 minutes and got up and got all dressed.  I ate my usual pre-run meal of 2 pieces of cinnamon toast with butter (usually just one piece, but since it was 2.5 hours until race time, I opted for two), a banana and a tall glass of iced coffee with a bottle of water.  I headed downtown with a plan to park right off of the highway and walk down to the race (warm-up!).

Apparently, everyone else had that same idea.  I got alittle nervous about the parking when I ran into the traffic getting off of my exit, but once we made it past the light, I hit the parking lot no problem.

I headed down to the Cleveland Browns Stadium - where the lines for the port-a-pots were super long, so I headed into the stadium to use the restrooms before heading to the start.  The 10k stepped off around 7:30am in order to leave enough distance between us and the 1/2 and fullers.  I like that they did this, and hope next year, they plan for a 1/2 hour time difference between the two race start times.

We started uphill slightly and within the first 5 minutes I was wondering what I got myself into?  I was VERY dry (I finished my last water when I left my car to walk down to stadium), and the first water station could not come soon enough.  I enjoyed every last drop, walked for a couple minutes and than headed out on a straight path for about a mile and a half.  I must've missed the 2nd mile marker, because the next one I saw was mile 3, and I threw my arms up and said "Halfway there!" out loud.  I fell into my groove and ran until mile 4.  At 4 I took a walk break and than sprinted once I saw mile marker 5.  At 5 I started to hold back a bit so I could really power through to the finish closer to 6.  Thank God for the hose and water during mile 5.  It was HOT, my skin was HOT and it helped to get some of the salt off of me!  I started sprinting once we rounded the corner to 9th totally thinking the finish was at the end of the pier.  Well, when we were directed to turn left - I realized I still had a very little ways to go, but that very little ways felt like forever and I may have even dropped some f-bombs at this small stretch.  A couple feet from the finish, I threw my arms up and gave my best smile and crossed over strong.  I did it!

A few thoughts on the finish - it was VERY crowded when I crossed the finish with spectators/other runners, etc.  I was handed a water as I crossed, but than felt like I had to push my way to the bananas and other food that followed.  Somewhere along the way, a chocolate milk ended up in my hand too (chocolate milk = VERY happy Mel!).  Again, I felt I had to fight my way over to the open field to sit down and stretch/rehydrate/rest/text my husband.  It might have just been my feeling overall, as I once I got past the finish, I was hot, nauseous and really just needed to sit down - so pretty much anything was going to annoy me/be in my way at that point.

Once I found my way and plopped down - it hit me that I had completed my goal of running a 10k.  I sat in that grassy field eating my banana and drinking my chocolate milk with tears streaming down my face in my eyes.  I was proud of myself.  I was proud of every one of those people they were announcing as they crossed the finish line.  I was proud of the guy who proposed to his girlfriend as they crossed the finish line.  I am still proud of myself!

What an AMAZING feeling!   

Side note: It would have been nice to get a commemorative pin or something along those lines (in place of a medal) for completing the 10k.  I understand I did not run the 1/2 or the full, but what I did run was a BIG accomplishment for me, and I would have loved to have something tangible at the finish to commemorate my hard work.

Onto the next....