Race report - Hermes Cleveland 10 miler
My last race was a bit of a disaster (chest cold, 40 degrees, no running for almost a week beforehand), so I pinned my hopes on the Cleveland 10-miler for an ego boost.
This was my first race in double digits in preparation for the Buffalo half marathon in May. I was, needless to say, a little intimidated by the race, not least for the fact that it was sold out, only my second foray into double digits, and the other side of the city (I can count on both hands how many times I've been over there). I've also had some issues with tendonitis, so I was a little worried about that flaring up as I ran. The crazy number of people at packet pick-up didn't help either. Oh well, at least I really like the t-shirt.
The front:
The back (with my lame photography skills):
Hermes Road Racing organized the race, so I like the shout-out here.
I didn't sleep well the night before, because I was so nervous and excited, so getting up for the race was definitely a challenge. The morning of the race was a bit chilly but not nearly as cold as I'd originally worried it might be (it is Cleveland, so snow isn't entirely out of the question). I dragged myself out of bed, shoved a cup of coffee and a bagel down my throat and was on my way. I didn't get lost on my trek to the other side of the city, which I took as a good omen for the rest of the day.
Here's a shot of the view I had coming out of the parking lot and heading toward the start line.
Awesome, right? We actually didn't see this again until the end, since the race cut into the city.
After parking, I milled around for an hour, checking in my bag, hitting the port-o-johns twice, walking a considerable bit, and stretching as much as I felt would be okay on relatively cold muscles. The 5K started about ten minutes before us, so I cheered them on as they started, then proceeded to my place at the back of the pack. There were a lot of people, and most people clambored to the front, so I was happy to let them jostle each other and wait a bit for some extra room to run. When the starting bell went off, it took me nearly four minutes to cross the start line (considering my experience with previous races, this was long. I know it will probably be MUCH longer at the half). Not too many people were out to cheer for us (it was 8:30 on a Saturday, so I don't begrudge them that), but it was still a wonderful course.
From the start, the course went downhill onto Lake Ave, one of the main streets in Lakewood, and after about two and a half miles, followed the path from the Reindeer Run in December. The turn-around after the first four miles was in the same spot as the Reindeer Run. It was interesting to run the same course and note how much more confident (and warm! I guess a forty degree temperature increase will do that for you.) I felt in this later race. I think that doing races is finally giving me some confidence in myself, especially with regards to my pace.
I held back on my pace over the first two miles or so, pacing a group of a mother and two daughters who were about at my pace. Eventually, they pushed their speed, but I had them in sight right up until the end. I'm actually really glad I held back, because I had negative splits for the rest of the race (that's NEVER happened to me before).
I felt pretty good overall, though I chose to walk every water stop, since I'm unbelieably bad at running and drinking at the same time (running + drinking = choking, in my running world). At about mile seven, my feet started to hurt, but I ignored it and kept on going. I attribute that to my shoes getting a bit wet from the rain that was coming and going throughout the race.
After the turn around (and eating half of my shotblocks), we followed the same flat, easy route around until about mile eight. I was a little annoyed that the organizers promised that we'd be running along Lake Erie, so I was gratified when we took a turn toward the lake for the last two miles. The last mile was torture, because I could see the finish line, but we kept going around in circles on a winding path. I didn't think I was ever going to get there. Then, finally, FINALLY, I went around the last curve and put all I had into the last hundred meters, pulling my chubby self over the finish line.
My first finish line picture!
I'm not sure what my hands are doing right there (claws!), but I'll just chalk it up to exhaustion. At least I'm smiling (unlike the other pictures they took *shudder*)!
The medal:
I actually forgot to turn off my Nike+ until about a minute after I crossed the finish line (I got a little "Oooh shiny!" with the medal, to be honest), but my chip time was 2:03:55. Just a tad slower than my goal of two hours, but since it was my first race in double digits, I'll take it. :)
After some stretching, I downed a bottle of water, grabbed my bag, ate a banana, and prepared to hobble to my car. The worst part of the race, however, was the hill I had to climb to get back to my car. In making the course downhill the whole way (which was great when I was running it), the finish was at the bottom of the hill where we started. Climbing that thing after running ten miles was probably the least fun thing I've done in a long time. The hill would have made the race much more challenging, so I understand why they cut it out, but it would have been an interesting finish line challenge (I think asking for a hill is one of those "You know you're a runner when..." moments).
So, overall, I'm happy with the race. I think it was good to do to get myself prepped for the half, and I'm pumped for the Cleveland Marathon 10K in two weeks.
x-posted to runners
This was my first race in double digits in preparation for the Buffalo half marathon in May. I was, needless to say, a little intimidated by the race, not least for the fact that it was sold out, only my second foray into double digits, and the other side of the city (I can count on both hands how many times I've been over there). I've also had some issues with tendonitis, so I was a little worried about that flaring up as I ran. The crazy number of people at packet pick-up didn't help either. Oh well, at least I really like the t-shirt.
The front:
The back (with my lame photography skills):
Hermes Road Racing organized the race, so I like the shout-out here.
I didn't sleep well the night before, because I was so nervous and excited, so getting up for the race was definitely a challenge. The morning of the race was a bit chilly but not nearly as cold as I'd originally worried it might be (it is Cleveland, so snow isn't entirely out of the question). I dragged myself out of bed, shoved a cup of coffee and a bagel down my throat and was on my way. I didn't get lost on my trek to the other side of the city, which I took as a good omen for the rest of the day.
Here's a shot of the view I had coming out of the parking lot and heading toward the start line.
Awesome, right? We actually didn't see this again until the end, since the race cut into the city.
After parking, I milled around for an hour, checking in my bag, hitting the port-o-johns twice, walking a considerable bit, and stretching as much as I felt would be okay on relatively cold muscles. The 5K started about ten minutes before us, so I cheered them on as they started, then proceeded to my place at the back of the pack. There were a lot of people, and most people clambored to the front, so I was happy to let them jostle each other and wait a bit for some extra room to run. When the starting bell went off, it took me nearly four minutes to cross the start line (considering my experience with previous races, this was long. I know it will probably be MUCH longer at the half). Not too many people were out to cheer for us (it was 8:30 on a Saturday, so I don't begrudge them that), but it was still a wonderful course.
From the start, the course went downhill onto Lake Ave, one of the main streets in Lakewood, and after about two and a half miles, followed the path from the Reindeer Run in December. The turn-around after the first four miles was in the same spot as the Reindeer Run. It was interesting to run the same course and note how much more confident (and warm! I guess a forty degree temperature increase will do that for you.) I felt in this later race. I think that doing races is finally giving me some confidence in myself, especially with regards to my pace.
I held back on my pace over the first two miles or so, pacing a group of a mother and two daughters who were about at my pace. Eventually, they pushed their speed, but I had them in sight right up until the end. I'm actually really glad I held back, because I had negative splits for the rest of the race (that's NEVER happened to me before).
I felt pretty good overall, though I chose to walk every water stop, since I'm unbelieably bad at running and drinking at the same time (running + drinking = choking, in my running world). At about mile seven, my feet started to hurt, but I ignored it and kept on going. I attribute that to my shoes getting a bit wet from the rain that was coming and going throughout the race.
After the turn around (and eating half of my shotblocks), we followed the same flat, easy route around until about mile eight. I was a little annoyed that the organizers promised that we'd be running along Lake Erie, so I was gratified when we took a turn toward the lake for the last two miles. The last mile was torture, because I could see the finish line, but we kept going around in circles on a winding path. I didn't think I was ever going to get there. Then, finally, FINALLY, I went around the last curve and put all I had into the last hundred meters, pulling my chubby self over the finish line.
My first finish line picture!
I'm not sure what my hands are doing right there (claws!), but I'll just chalk it up to exhaustion. At least I'm smiling (unlike the other pictures they took *shudder*)!
The medal:
I actually forgot to turn off my Nike+ until about a minute after I crossed the finish line (I got a little "Oooh shiny!" with the medal, to be honest), but my chip time was 2:03:55. Just a tad slower than my goal of two hours, but since it was my first race in double digits, I'll take it. :)
After some stretching, I downed a bottle of water, grabbed my bag, ate a banana, and prepared to hobble to my car. The worst part of the race, however, was the hill I had to climb to get back to my car. In making the course downhill the whole way (which was great when I was running it), the finish was at the bottom of the hill where we started. Climbing that thing after running ten miles was probably the least fun thing I've done in a long time. The hill would have made the race much more challenging, so I understand why they cut it out, but it would have been an interesting finish line challenge (I think asking for a hill is one of those "You know you're a runner when..." moments).
So, overall, I'm happy with the race. I think it was good to do to get myself prepped for the half, and I'm pumped for the Cleveland Marathon 10K in two weeks.
x-posted to runners