Distance running is the ultimate humbling experience. I’ve been pondering the things I felt like I had definite control of on Saturday morning as I prepared to run the 2018 Rite Aid Cleveland Half Marathon, and came up with two: the pair of shorts I selected and what I ate for breakfast. I suppose this is part of the reckoning process when things don’t go as well as we hoped they would. Surely it was the course, the weather, that third sharp turn, right? I haven’t gone back to re-read my last race recap yet, but I have a feeling that we only attribute our perceived failure to unknowable sources, which is to say that I’m sure when I ran my PR last November I was more than happy to claim control over every facet of the day and race. Were my shorts less magical this time around? Probably not.
I had never been to Cleveland before this past weekend, so the allure of this race was twofold: it was described as “fast and flat,” and I thought it would be fun to visit a new city. Cleveland was within a doable driving distance, and I liked the idea of a spring getaway to look forward to. This did prove to be a good mental boost through the winter. My training for the past few months had gone well, and I did a tune-up 10 mile race 6 weeks out that went perfectly. Seriously, it was the best paced race I have ever run, though this accomplishment certainly isn’t tarnished by my faulty half marathon weekend.
The week leading up to the race was a predictable mix of weather-related jitters. After a long winter and a very slow, cool transition into spring, we finally got some hot weather. Cleveland was still predicted be be cooler than home, but 60-65 degrees and sunny can still feel hot at race effort. So, at the advice of my coach, I spent the second half of the week doing everything I could to acclimate to the heat. I walked around in the 80 plus degrees wearing a black sweater, I increased my fluid and electrolyte intakes to a gallon each day. I did my final runs in long sleeves to stay at the cusp of uncomfortably warm.
I traveled to Cleveland on Friday to make my pre-race day as relaxed as possible. On Saturday, I slept in, went for my 4 mile shake-out run. I leisurely ate breakfast while I watched the royal wedding coverage, then moseyed to the expo mid-morning to beat the crowd I anticipated later in the day. The expo was okay, though I was a little underwhelmed given the size of the race, but it was in a very open space and I appreciated feeling like I had plenty of room to walk around. After the expo I wandered down to the waterfront and saw all the fun touristy spots, snapped some pictures, then decided I should get off my feet and headed back to the hotel for afternoon of relaxing. At this point it seemed as though the weather was going to be as close to perfect as you can hope for in late May—upper 50’s and overcast.
The race kicked off at 7, so I got up a little after 4 to eat breakfast, drink some tea, encourage the oh-so-prayed-for pre-race bowel movement. The forecast still looked good, though I couldn’t figure out how it was showing 80% humidity with an overcast sky, but I geared up and headed out. When I got outside it turned out that the “humidity” was really rain. Not a huge deal since the temperature was comfortable, though after my warm-up and waiting in my corral, I was soaked. I had some nice conversation as I waited for the race to start, and was mostly feeling excited. I’ve run in plenty of rain, and it was nothing too heavy, so I wasn’t that concerned about it. Sometimes I like the distraction of rain, and in the warmer months it can definitely help you feel cool.
I knew the race started off with some wiggles on the elevation map, but man. It was nothing like I was expecting, and nothing like I had mentally mapped out to run. I swear we ran every on- and off-ramp the city had to offer in those first few miles. The conditions of the roads in that downtown stretch were honestly terrible. I’ve never run on a surface that bad in a race. As I was trying to hop over potholes, I thought to myself “Man, how has no one tripped on these yet?” A self-fulfilling omen: a few steps later I tripped and lurched forward, much to the consternation of a very sweet guy behind me. There were weird, sharp downhills that took us into very dark underpasses. I couldn’t see through those tunnels and was sure with the lack of visibility and slick roads I’d wipe out. Then the course took us over a few bridges with a grated metal surface. It was like running over a storm drain for 200 meters, and I started to panic a little. My feet aren’t huge, and I was afraid that if I pushed off at exactly the wrong spot, my foot would get caught in one of the open spaces and I’d break my ankle. I tried to tell myself not to panic, and also definitely NOT to look down. The metal was also wet, so I didn’t feel like I had great traction. This seemed like a questionable course decision, and certainly an unnecessary hazard.
At the point that I had gone up and down hills/ramps, through dark tunnels, and over slippery metal bridges I was almost at the halfway point. Unfortunately the halfway point brought the mother of all hills, and as someone who lives in a notably hilly town, I feel highly qualified to make this distinction. I buried my head and tried to power up it, but when I made it to the top I started to feel like I was going to lose my breakfast. At this point I had THE talk with myself, the “how do I survive the back half of this race” talk. I was frustrated and emotional. The course was starting to feel like a practical joke. After the churning stomach my legs were feeling a little wobbly, so I decided to shift into survival mode and just to run to make it as bearable and fun for myself as I could. I took a mile to collect myself, then tried to get down to business. I let myself walk for a few seconds when I grabbed water at the stations, and I tried to absorb the energy of the spectators. If someone waved, I waved back. If someone offered a high five, I took it. When someone yelled “Girl power!” I raised the roof. I attempted to wave at photographers, I mustered two thumbs up, both of which appear to have been more manageable than an actual smile. I crossed the finish line in 1:41:51, which was a far cry from my goal, but almost seems like a gift considering how bad I felt, and how much I had slowed down during the second half. I ran a 1:34:31 in the fall, and was obviously hoping to come in under that if all went well. Next time…
A few more notes about the race. I didn’t realize the course wasn’t certified until someone else pointed this out. Everyone I talked to afterwards that ran that half confirmed that the course was 0.3-0.4 miles long. That’s quite a lot of distance, and really knocks down everyone’s overall pace. GPS is never totally accurate, but my watch has never been more off during a race. Also, the half marathon course re-joined the 10K course for the final mile or two. Trying to finish uphill while weaving through walkers was less than ideal, especially because the final stretch into the finish like was also very narrow. Once I crossed the finish line, I was surprised that there was no timing tent or any other way to find your official time. This seems to have become a common staple over the past few years, even at smaller, local races. One final complaint: why in the world did someone promote this race as”flat and fast”? Maybe the full marathon course leveled out, but it was still a rough start.
I don’t mean to sound so negative about this race and my experience, but it was disappointing. At the same time, I know it was just one day, and is not indicative of the past 5 months of hard work. Ultimately I am very grateful that I got to show up and run, and that I go to see so much of Cleveland. I’m grateful that I’m not injured, and now that this is all said and done that I can lace up again and go at it harder for the fall. In the meantime, I’m taking this week completely off. No running, no strength training. Just walking with my dogs. I took the two days after the race off work to read books, watch movies, eat chocolate. Okay, okay. Drink wine too. I splurged on a massage, I took naps. I let myself be just a little sad, but then I started dreaming about the fall.
Keep kickin’ it,
Sarah
