Saturday, September 29, 2007

Akron Marathon


There I am. Downtown Akron. 6am. Hard to believe that all the training at HPL, VR track workouts, long runs, all in the heat came down to one fall day. While I made my way from my usual parking spot for races in downtown Akron I began to see more and more runners.

One guy stopped me and asked me which was the start line was. “Follow me!” I said. “So, where you from?” I asked the man. “Pittsburgh.” He replied. “Sorry to hear that.” I responded. He laughed. “Just giving you a hard time!” I then said. “Not everyone from Pittsburgh is bad,” I concluded, “some of them move to Ohio.” He liked that one, too. I was full of them today. He walked to the start area together. I gave him some advice on the course since this was my third time doing it. Third time. Wow. What the hell was I thinking! I knew how bad this race is. Still, there I was heading back again. We went our separate ways and I started looking for some folks and to give my drop bad to the FedEx people.

I got in line for the restrooms. A guy behind me told me one was open. I turned to tell him it was a female port-o-john (or jane??) and it was Bill Rodgers. Ok, so for you non-runner types reading this, although if you are reading this you are probably a runner, Bill Rodgers has won the two biggest marathons around, Boston and New York, a lot. Four times each. Including setting the course record on both. My only response was, “Your Bill Rodgers!” I am pretty sure he knew that though.

So, just after that I found Nick who was with a guy named Brett I sat next to at a pasta dinner earlier in the week. While we stretched and chat Al from the track workouts stopped by and we talked a bit more. Then Nick and I dropped off our bags and began to make our way to our starting area. We though at one point they started, but it was just start line getting set for the elites. We ran down to where we saw the pacers for 3:30 and 3:40 and jumped the corral and we were set. Whew! It wasn’t long before we heard the GONG GONG GONG of the start and we were off. I tried looking for my parents, but didn’t see them this time. I knew I would see them soon, though.

We shot out of downtown and across the bridges. It was about then that we met up with Mel, Susan, and Jamie. We all ran together and talked for a bit. Jamie and Susan ducked out at different points and we lost them. So it was Nick, Mel, and me running through the first leg. Mel took off to hand off, and Nick and I pushed on. We hit this part averaging about a 7:50 pace. We cruised on and were still feeling really good.

As we ran through Akron’s campus, we came across Kim who I recognized from the summer Buckeye Trail 50k. So the three of us pushed on and headed onto the Towpath section. So this is a nice part of the course. Only bad part, while you run it, you know what is just around the corner. We hit the halfway mark at 1:44. Still on for under a 3:30 and feeling still great.

We came to the end of the Towpath and my parents were there waiving. This was the third time I had passed them today! Too funny. But it was great to see them. Then it was time for the real race to start. For those who have not ran the course, it is pretty much all up hill for the next 3 miles. Kim took off for a bit. She ended up running with her twin sister Kellie while Nick and I headed up the hill. It wasn’t long that Kim found us. Then we met up with Aaron from the track workout and he ran with us for a bit, too, knowing this part is really tough. Next thing we know…there’s Susan and Jamie! They had played it smart and paced a bit better than Nick and I. And just like the Buckeye half, up the hill she went and GONE! Damn I hate that! She was on fire.

We made it to the top, but I was starting to feel my legs a bit. We were also just behind the 3:30 pace group, but our time had slipped a bit. We were now pushing a 3:30 pace. We went on through into the West Akron part of the race. The best part of this race is all the people partying in their front lawns cheering everyone on. I passed my parents again at about the 20 mile mark and was shocked. Usually they don’t make it this far, but this time they did. They also know this part would be a lot less smiles. I made my way down the road looking for my friends Holly and Chris’s house. There they were all out cheering for me. I was actually dead on my estimated time. They hooked me up with a big bottle of Gatorade which by now I REALLY needed because I had made the same mistake as the Buckeye half, and they had dissolved on me. Great. But the electrolytes in the Gatorade hit the spot and helped me ward off the cramps I was starting to feel.

The rest of the race went by pretty quick. By now I was alone but cruising and fighting to keep an 8 minute pace. I had faded to a 3:32 pace now, but was still pushing. I headed down the hill towards the finish. As I crested the last hill on the course I finally saw it. Downtown. The finish was just around the corner. It was such a great feeling knowing I was going to hit my goal and run a good marathon. I was a bit behind, but feeling great. Thinking back to last time I was here was two years ago. A lot had changed in my life and many things had been upside down. But I finally felt back. I did it. It was time to finish this race and get some beer!

I took it in fast and felt great. Crossed the line at 3:34:48. Good for a PR by 12 minutes and a course record for me of 23 minutes. Almost a mile/minute faster. Overall placement was 239 of 1165 finishers, 203 of 815 males, 31 of 105 in my age group.

Next up, Towpath half marathon!

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Buckeye Half Marathon

This race officially marked the end of the summer races and the beginning of the fall races. With the Akron Marathon just around the corner, I needed to get a benchmark of how the summer training went for me. This race is a great chance to do that. The last and only time I ran the Buckeye Half was in 2004, so I was pretty sure I was going to beat my time then, but I also wanted to PR at the half all together.

The morning started off like most races. I tried to pay attention to make sure I did everything as I would before a marathon. These last few hours before races have really hit me later in the day. So I wasn’t going to relive any dumb moves I have made before. Well, two or three times before. Not a quick study sometimes.

I got down to the race and began to warm up. Once I got back to the start line I began to see folks and say hello and good luck. One of the folks I saw was Mike George who I saw last week at the Labor of Love 5 miler in Akron. I made my way to the 1:35 and 1:40 pace area. I had been in a bit of a quandary all week. Do I go out with the 1:35 and hold it or 1:40 and push it later in the race. So I just decided to stand there at the 1:37ish area (I just made that up) and hung out.

Next thing I know, there is Nick and Susan from the VR Tuesday Track workouts. First funny part, we were all wearing our red sleeveless VR shirts. (They must have gotten the memo!) They were also trying to figure out what to do exactly. So we decided to chase the 1:35ers and see what happens. Seemed like a good plan to me. (Note #1: these two individuals not only played an important role in today’s race, but also at Akron in a few weeks)

In a short bit we were off. The three of us locked into a great pace, low 7:20s and feeling great. We noticed pretty quickly that the 1:35ers we MOVING. Not sure what was going on up there, but there they went. Good thing we did go out with them. So the three of us stayed the pace and kept chugging along.

Then the rain started.

At first it was a nice mist. Then the drops got bigger. And bigger. And even bigger. Then it let loose. We still managed to keep our pace even though we were getting drentched. This is where we really started to pass some folks. It was about then I decided it was time for a gel, an endurolyte, and my ipod. But, when I reached back, the gel was there…ipod was there…hmmm…no endurolytes. In the rain, they had began to dissolve. (Note #2: Endurolytes dissolving is going to come back to haunt me in an upcoming post about Akron…stay tuned.)

So I shot down the gel, and I began hearing Stronger by Kayne West on the ipod. Things were feeling kinda rough now. I had remembered I was feeling a bit tired this week, but at mile 8, it was starting to become more evident. We rounded the corner on route 303 which is the hilly part of the run. This is where Susan shot up the hill with Nick. I held my pace deciding to go up the hill easy and hit the downhill part just after. Well I did do the hills easy, but as I hit the downhill, I was waiting for me to recover. And Waited. Waited…hmmmm. I took the hill down easy, too, but still was not feeling it. Susan and Nick were still pulling ahead. I was getting a bit worried, but then finally, once I hit the flat part was able to pick the pace back up and passed a few people. About then I passed Vince and Mailman Mike who waived and gave me a thumbs up. That helped. I was able to push things a bit again. I was able to head in with Al, another Track workout person (man, they are everywhere today) and finished. 1:39:30 on the clock, which is an average pace of 7:36. Good for a PR by 2 minutes placing me 6th of 24 in my age group and 64 overall out of 382 finishers.

Next up…AK-ROWDY-ROWDY…Akron Marathon….

Saturday, September 08, 2007

2007 Summer Race Recap: The 10&10 Plan


So, this past spring (after my crash and burn at the Cleveland Marathon), I decided I would try something: The 10 & 10 plan. I was going to try to run 10 races during the summer and visit 10 wineries as well. I didn't think it would be that hard, but once I got going it was a bit more than I excepted. I did manage to complete the races. The wineries, well, I am going to have to extend that one on into the fall after the fall marathons.

So back to the races. I do have to say this was my best summer race season I think I have had. My overall placement average for the summer was in the 83%. I managed to actually place in my age group twice along with several 4th place finishes. To top it all off, I also managed to set new PR's in the 5K, 4 mile, 5 mile, 10K, and half marathon. Although, I think I have to credit that more to my Vertical Runner Tuesday Night Track Workouts and working out with my trainer, Sean, at HPL.

I ended having a blast this summer. I got to see a bunch of folks I haven't seen in a while throughout the summer and met some new people along the way as well. I am going to do this again for sure next summer.

2007 Summer Races
5/4 Race Judicata 5K - 14th Overall
5/6 Revol's Race for the Kids 10K* - 19th Overall and 4th in Age Group
5/28 Tallmadge Memorial 5K - 4th in Age Group
6/16 Jim Klett Memorial 10K
6/30 Race for the Parks 4 Mile* - 4th in Age Group
7/4 Hudson Firecracker 5K - 3rd in Age Group
7/21 Winking Lizard Shot in the Dark 5K
8/18 Joseph C Monastra 5K* - 2nd in Age Group
9/3 Labor of Love 5 Miler*
9/9 Buckeye Half Marathon*

Ok, now back to finishing the wineries!

Friday, September 07, 2007

Ok, it has been a while

Ok, I guess it has been a while since my last update. I will be posting some new stuff very shortly. Stay tuned!