May 20th, 2012 - What a day to run the Cleveland Marathon!
As my brother and I walked down East 9th Street at around 6:15am, the sun was showing its light on the beautiful city and the air was already warm.
Getting to the start was no problem at all. We managed our way through the crowd to the 3:45 pace group. 8:34 per mile. For 26.2 miles. No big deal....
Before the buzzer started for the racers to run, the "Cleveland Rocks" theme song from the Drew Carey Show was on repeat. The city pride made me smile. I love this place. Bob and I were stretched, carb-loaded and ready to run. As the buzzer went off, so did we.
The first half was in fact, no big deal.
The second half invariably was. I had been running away at roughly an 8:26 pace for 13 miles....at the half way mark, I decided I needed to take a break for water. I also decided I would walk while drinking my water.
Bob ran past, looking strong.
B.a.d. n.e.w.s.....
I didn't want to start running again! The walking break felt SO good! For the next 6 or so miles I did a run/walk sort of deal that I kept beating myself up about after all the motivational-mantra-repeating (Run fierce. Embrace courage. Strong Legs. Strong Mind. Strong Heart.) turned into a feigned utterance. (COME ON! Move faster! You're better than this!) It was also about 83 degrees. Weather I wasn't used to running in. I think I was becoming delirious...
I was just glad that when I saw my family: Mom, Dad, Eileen and baby Jack, that they caught me in my running stride and not crying. Because dad has it on video for the year-in-review....
Around mile 19 or so, the heat and my body aches and internal monologue were getting the best of me. I looked at my watch as I pasted mile 19. It read 4 hours and 3 minutes. 'Are you SERIOUS!?!?' I thought. My last marathon, I finished at 3:33, qualifying for the Boston Marathon...and now I am breaking 4 hours with 7 miles to go????
.That's when the flood gates opened. I realized I had 7.2 miles to go. And on this hot, sweltering day when my muscles and mind were not in my prime running spot, I broke down to a walk and started crying. Yep. Real salty tears mixing with my perfuse sweating. This only increased my dehydrated state.
A moment or two later, I was encouraged by a fellow runner, "You got this, keep it up!" As the ran past, I realized that yes, everyone running past could see my breakdown, and shucks, I am DEFINITELY slower when and cry and walk as opposed to when I just cry. 'Okay Erin. Enough. Let's go.' I told myself. I picked up my pace and gradually started running with the encouraging runner. "Alright way to go!" They said. "Is this your first marathon?" My heart kind of sunk a little as I realized what a chump I was being. No. This wasn't my first marathon. This was my fourth marathon. I knew exactly what to expect, and yet, on this unexpectedly hot and humid day in Cleveland, realized this was life's way of telling me I did not.
The last 6 miles of that race, was the most humbling of my running career.
What I met on the last 6 miles of the race was: pride, heartache, courage and inspiration, hope.
I saw my cousin John right before mile 20. He caught me as I stepped to the side to start crying. (I wasn't kidding about the humbled part.) I was in a sorry state. I was really happy to see him. I bucked up and started running at an incredibly slow pace with him. I was so dehydrated. My body, a wreck. I think I went about 1/2 a mile and had to walk; taking water at every station. John did the best he could to be positive and keep the conversation light. All that was on my mind was: I need this to end!!! Where is the water!?!?! I think it was around mile 22 I started hyperventilation. I was physically and emotionally drained and on the verge of heat exhaustion. Yep. I definately stopped (at this point) walking and SAT down. Enjoyed some water and realized I would never be able to forgive myself if I didn't finish. My pride, at this point was gone. I got up. Wiped the sweat and tears again and went on my way. John wished me good luck and told he would see me at the end, when I finished.
As I trudged along, I met another inspiring fella. This guy, from Cincinnati, who was being sponsored by Medtronic. He had had heart surgery sometime before at the Cleveland Clinic and Medtronic's medical advances made the surgery possibly. This guy had always been a runner, before his heart problems and decided to run Cleveland, in honor of the fact he can still run today because of those talented folks at the Cleveland Clinic. He even took a detour to run on the unit where he had his recovery after surgery. The courage and inspiration I gathered from his story made me think I had nothing to complain about. So I kept running as he took his well-earned detour.
I also had the pleasure of running with a guy who was running with this huge flag, which symbolized Young Adults and Kids with Cancer in support of his girlfriend. This flag was big, and looked it must of have been AT LEAST 10-15lbs. It's a great cause and a great way to promote the non-profit, but I was really glad I didn't have to carry that banner. This dude and I, for the last 6 or so miles would run together; he would pass me, or me him....Then I would walk....Then he would. It helped to pass the time. At mile 24 - a race official was waving a red flag handing out bottled water at a non-aid station, cautioning us to keep it slow. I learned later that the race directors issued a “red flag position” warning, where runners were cautioned to slow the course because of the heat. At mile 25, the guy with the flag approached me saying, okay, we've been in each other's view for a while. Let's finish strong! That sounded good to me! He then told me about how he fundraised for this cancer organization in honor of his girlfriend who found out she had breast cancer in her 20s. He then told me about how we was running 15 marathons and taking a picture at the finish line with a letter that spells out: WILL YOU MARRY ME? He asked if I would take the picture. Seriously? I gladly would.
I finished that race in 4:38 minutes. There was nothing glorious about that time. My performance was not stunning, and to be honest, my attitude was kinda wimpy. BUT I DID IT!! I finished, even though it was really tough.
I also, throughout all of this was not only by the heat, but by my blood sugar levels. From keeping a similar running regimen, I know basically when and how much to keep my blood sugars level during an extended period of time running at a consistent pace. Except this race pace was not consistent. Nor was the heat or my emotional and stress levels....All of which contributed to a really high blood sugar post race...which may have also contributed to my difficulty running. Oh well. Definitely a learning experience!
To the next race and hopefully better running conditions and/or better prepared for any running condition.
To read further about the race: http://www.cleveland.com/marathon/index.ssf/2012/05/cleveland_marathon_notebook_an.html
A post-race photo. Bob finished at 4:15... me at 4:38. Not our best performances, but my, we both earned those medals!!
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