Race Recap: Akron Marathon

I had to wait at least a week to write this recap because I am a very emotional person, and I feel like I'm a better person (and writer) when I can take time to think over what I want to write. I have some very strong prejudices against the Akron Marathon, and I wanted to be sure that I was being fair when  I describe my experience. If you have never read this blog before, I should probably bring you up to date about my background feelings, both positive and negative. Edit: On my long run this morning, it occurred to me that 78.9% of you don't care one bit what my background feelings are on the Akron Marathon. If this is you, I will spare you. If you are a part of the 21.1% who genuinely want to know, here is a link to my double secret blog post.  Call it an Easter egg. You're welcome.

Not THIS kind of Easter egg

The expo was lots of fun, as usual. I worked the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon booth for a few hours, and I got to see all my running friends.

Me, Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon RD Ralph Staph, Super runner (and Medina City Schools BOE Member) Ron Ross

Fellow Ambassador Jeff Edwards and I say, "Run Cleveland 2020!"

 Then Marta arrived and we went to lunch. We came back in time for Marta's pinning ceremony (10 years of running the marathon!), and then we were lucky enough to meet Desi Linden!

She was so amazing and inspirational. She actually ASKED ME ABOUT MY TRAINING!!!!  I stammered and smiled like a love-sick idiot.

Marta and I got our bibs and browsed the vendors.

Marta and I are ready!

It's tradition to find your name on the car outside the Expo.

I found my teacher friends, who were running the relay:

Me, Erin, Katie, and Mike

Then we met up with fellow Ambassador Pam McGowan and her husband Steve, who is a pacer for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. We all had a drink and went home to rest.

Flash forward to the race. I decided not to take the shuttle since it was making me so anxious. Luckily for me, my friend Jen offered to pick up Marta, Renee, and me downtown and drive us to the start line. She got us there in great time, and we didn't have to worry about lines.  Thanks, Jen!

My second worry was available bathrooms. The start from downtown always had plenty of bathrooms, and I worried that there wasn't enough space for them at Stan Hywet Hall.  I was right and wrong about this. We got there pretty early, so I had plenty of time to use the port a potties twice, but the second time involved a LONG line. There were lots of runners who chose to relieve themselves in the woods, and I wonder if the Stan Hywet committee thought of this.

Renee, Me, Marta 

Nicki, Me, Renee, Marta

The corrals are in the parking lot of Stan Hywet, with A Corral right by the start line, of course. It took me nine minutes to get from my corral to the start, and while those minutes are super exciting on  the road to the start downtown, at Stan Hywet they were. . .nothing. I stood still in the corral for 6 minutes watching a video monitor as the elites and sub-elites started the race. Then I walked very slowly for 3 minutes toward the start line. It was definitely anti-climactic.

I ran with my friend Jeanne and her cousin for as long as I could keep up.

Jeanne and I wait in the corral. And wait. And wait.

 I did pretty well with my pace, keeping it around 10:30-10:45 until Mile 17 when the wheels came off.  One of the advertised appeals of the new course is that it is faster and flatter than the old course. This is true, in my opinion, but it wasn't an easier course because the last part of it was in full sun reflecting off of water. It was humid and hot, and many of us suffered. Had I been a better runner, though, with a predicted finish of 3:30 or sooner, I probably would have loved the new course. Alas. I am not a better runner.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I pretend I am a better runner.
Photo Credit: Rob Thompson

From Mile 19 to the end, I walked at least .10 of a mile and then shuffled my way to the next mile. At least 3 miles were on the boardwalk on Summit Lake, and it was really difficult. Part of the course goes behind Canal Park, where big factory pipes burp exhaust as you run by.  That was not pleasant.

The finish line was wonderful, as always. Food, beer, a fabulous band, and a sweet medal.  Per our tradition, Andrew waited for me at the finish, walked me to a patch of grass, made sure I wasn't going to die, and then he left.  I found Marta and we got our medal shot.

Marta is fancy. She is drinking organic Mich Ultra Light.  

When I made it home, I ordered 44 dollars worth of Chinese take out, and I ate at least half of it. Marathons aren't for the weak, Peeps.

To sum up:

Plusses: End of race party, band, stadium finish, flatter course, crowd support in West Akron, plenty of water stops and fuel stops.  Desi Linden! Kudos to Swensons for bringing their food truck out for the milkshake mile! The medal is awesome!

One note about the plusses: I didn't use the shuttle system, but everyone I know who did said that it was very smooth. We didn't have to delay the start, which is a win for everybody. So, kudos to the RD for having planned enough transportation!

Minuses: Fewer bands and spectators on the course (I guess this would be normal since it is a different course). Corral start is awful for back of the packers. Not enough bathrooms at start. The miles on Summit Lake are excruciating with little shade, and with next-to-no crowd support (but not everybody needs a crowd)

This race was not terrible, but it is gradually moving away from the race I loved. This is obviously my problem. Change is inevitable, and I'm sure that the RD wants to have the best possible experience for his elites and sub-elites. Because I am so weather-dependent, I would guess that if we had had an overcast day in the low 60's, I might have felt differently about the back half of the course. Or maybe I wouldn't.  I do have to acknowledge that this is probably an awesome course as a half marathon.

I plan to sign up next year because it will be my fifth Akron Marathon, and I would like the pin.  Will I fret less? Probably. Will I enjoy it more?  Hmmmm. . .Time will tell.

What did you think, Peeps? Was this a fair recap, given my biases? How much did you love this race?

However you feel about the races you run, I hope you run happy with yourselves, Peeps!

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Race Recap: Burn Rubber 10k

The Burn Rubber 10k/Half Marathon is the second race of the Rubber City Series.  I wasn't able to go to the first race in the series, so I had no idea what to expect.  Being sick enough to take Amoxicillin this week, and noticing a decrease in my strength and pace, I was a bit nervous about running any race at all.

The race was scheduled at 6:30 AM, and the race-day communications suggested runners arrive before 5:30, when roads would start to close.  I live less than fifteen minutes away, so I left my house at 5:00 and got there in plenty of time. . . sort of.  I arrived at the ONLY OPEN ROAD to the parking lot around 5:15 and waited in a huge traffic jam to move less than a mile into the parking lot, where there were plenty of spaces, by the way.  I didn't even get into the lot until 5:40, which set off my grumpiness and irritability.  I was lucky.  Anyone who was behind me had an even longer wait, and checking the Facebook site for the race, I saw that traffic was backed up onto the expressway.  This was definitely a fail on the part of the race director, but he made it right by delaying the start time by fifteen minutes and sending police out to the off-ramp to direct traffic.  This is the inaugural year for the Burn Rubber, so I am willing to give this mistake a pass because I am certain it won't be a problem next year.

I found my peeps from The Ohio Runners Network, and we took a cool picture in front of the start line:

The picture isn't blurry; we are.  It's early!

Then I found Shelby in the corral, and we took a selfie:

This is EXACTLY how I look before I find out there is a fifteen minute delay.

The gun went off, and away we ran, only to stop abruptly to get around the pace car, a Goodyear race car that had stalled in front of the start line.  It wasn't funny at the time, but when I saw the video of the driver and race director trying to get it started, I laughed out loud.  I can't even imagine what words were coming out of the driver's mouth as he kept trying to turn over the engine.

I went out fast in my first two miles, which seems to be my MO, but usually I feel great in the first two miles of a race, and I have to calm myself down.  This time I was still going fast, but I felt awful; I could tell that I would be racing the struggle-bus the whole time, and I was grateful that I chose the 10k rather than the Half-Mary.

By Mile 3, I was super hot, and I decided I would walk through every water stop on the course, drinking a cup and dumping a cup over my head.  This lost me a lot of time, but it was my choice not to carry my own water, and I did think about it, so I can't be too angry.  My body was telling me that I was still not 100%, so I'm glad I made a conscious choice to slow things down a bit.

The Goodyear Blimp followed us the whole race.  I never get tired of seeing the blimp.

Around Mile 4-ish, I was running just behind a guy who was really having fun with the race: he was telling corny jokes to anyone who would listen, he high-fived people on the route, and he thanked every volunteer.  I decided that I had to relax and try to be more like him, so I changed my mantra to "Relax-er, Runner, Relax-er, Runner," which coincided with my breathing.   Yes, I know "relax-er" isn't a word, but I read about it in Runner's World, so I decided to try it.  When I felt like a mantra was too complicated, I simply chanted my breathing method: "In, in, in, out, out.  In, in, in, out, out." This was surprisingly relaxing and helpful to me, so I stuck with it.

We headed into the Goodyear Proving Grounds for the last mile and change of the race, and boy, was that cool!  I have never seen a race track up close, let alone run on one, and I really enjoyed it, as well as the DJ and loud music parked in there.  At this point I started getting excited again, and I actually felt pretty good (Really???  It took me almost FIVE MILES to feel good?), so I shaved thirty seconds off that mile, but I still didn't push it until I got to the chute.

Waiting for me in the chute were a super-sweet medal, water, chocolate milk, a banana, and the best part was a towel from TruMoo soaking in ice water that a volunteer draped around my neck.  It was so hot, and I really appreciated that towel.

Then the fun started.  I had two food tickets and a beer ticket to cash in while listening to a great band sing my favorite songs.  There were food trucks from Swensons, Eddie's Cheesesteaks, and Strickland's Custard, all Akron institutions.  And there was great beer: Shock Top, Goose Island, and Bud Lite.  I'm so happy that many race directors are moving away from crappy Michelob Ultra beer; runners love good beer.

8:00 AM: Strickland's Custard and a Shock Top beer.  Missing:  the Galley Boy from Swensons that I just devoured.

This race was a PR for me, even though I was sick and it was nowhere near the pace I should have run.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I came in tenth in my Age Group!  And no, there weren't only ten people in my age group.  Shelby fulfilled her goal of a sub-2 hour half marathon, and I am so happy for her!  She has trained really hard for this, and she earned that time with every step.

Way to go, Shelby! What a badass!

Overall, I think this race is a winner, and I will definitely sign up again for the series next year.  This was a really fun event, and I think that the race director will fix the road access problem for next time.  I really appreciated the Akron-ness of the event; this is a great way to celebrate all things Akron.  Plus, I got a great medal and t-shirt:

Until next time: Run happy, Peeps!

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