2009 Fall Classic Half Marathon

This year's installment of the Fall Classic Half Marathon, which happens every year thanks to the Cleveland West Road Runners, almost didn't happen for me. Up until Friday I wasn't planning on running this race. I've run here the three previous years with results representing both ends of the spectrum, but due to the busy Christmas shopping season demanding that Mrs. P. work today, I thought it would be easier to just pass this year. But upon finding out that Jr. P. wanted to go into work with his mom, I reconsidered my intentions. Especially considering that the weather this year was actually going to be nice!

While watching a little Weather Channel this morning while I was waiting to leave for the race, I was confused to see that they were reporting Medina to be experiencing 96% humidity. "That's odd," I thought to myself. Upon opening the garage door to leave I immediately understood the reason why: There was a thick blanket of fog obscuring everything.

My first thought after processing this: There's no wind.

My second thought: I'm in for an interesting drive up to Strongsville!

The view from my car shortly after arriving at the park. The fog wasn't as thick up here as it was back home.

Here's a view most people don't get to see on race morning: The parking spaces closest to all the activity, EMPTY! You need to arrive pretty early to see that.

My race number bib's reflection. I didn't realize at the time how much the trash can really stands out!

The sun trying to burn through all the fog.

MCRR group photo. Roseann, Nancy, Dan H. Debbie, and myself. Not pictured was Patrick.

The fog burnt off rather quickly, leaving us a sunny and only slightly chilly race start.

My funny story for this race: After a mile and a half warm-up run with Dan and Debbie, I still needed to drop off some layers at the car and finalize some things pre-race. The problem was that I was running out of time. I ran back to the car, discarded my jacket and my outer layer shirt, swapped my hat for an ear band, grabbed my sunglasses and gels, and took off for the starting line. Unfortunately, about half way to the start line I discovered I was missing something. My race number! It was still sitting on the dashboard. So I turned around and high-tailed it back to the car. I eventually made it to the starting line with a few minutes to spare, but I was back a little farther than was desirable.

The race. I won't get into individual mile splits for this one. My finish time was 1:33:15 by my watch. That's only about 45 seconds off my PR! Not bad. I wish I felt "not bad" for the entire run and not just the first three miles or so. For the rest of the race I felt distinctly "not good". My energy faded quickly and I got really hungry. (That may be due to me running 9 miles on the trails yesterday) I was carrying only one gel with me and I took it with slightly less than half to go. The Gatorade on the course was watered down and didn't supply the carbs I needed. I'm thinking this calorie deficit I was in is what led to my eye spots. I will occasionally get funny spots in my vision. They usually affect my peripheral vision with only isolated spots in the center. I've read that it's related to migraines, but fortunately without the pain. I developed spots today while running, directly in my field of vision. They made it rather difficult to pay attention to what I was doing and I had to concentrate to keep running hard and not do anything stupid like step in a pothole or run into someone. They eventually went away, but I missed Jeannine and her children cheering my on as I ran by. I heard my name but I couldn't see who yelled it! Sorry Jeannine!

I was trying to chase down Dan H the entire race but I was unsuccessful. He maintained a pace I just couldn't overcome. And I threw out the idea of catching Rachel immediately. She was smoking fast again today, finishing 2nd overall for the women. Congrats Rachel!

Here's Jack heading into the finish line!

Debbie dueling with another woman as they approach the finish.

I think I really need to take some time to rest a bit. I've just been racing too much lately. I was supposed to be winding down this fall and instead I've really ramped up everything! The Flying Feather is awaiting us on Thanksgiving morning and I don't think I'm "racing" it this year. Mrs. P. can do that this time. I think I'll run the 4 mile course before the start and then run it again with Jr. P. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

To finish off the race report, here are some photos from after the race, once the sun was out.

The falls behind the park.

A view upstream.

And downstream.

And for all the ladies who went out to see New Moon this weekend, does this car look familiar?

2009 Bills' Bad Ass 50K

50 kilometers = 31.0 miles. I've run 26.2 miles more than a few times, but never anything longer. So far, I've done nothing to earn the title "ultra-marathoner". Until Saturday November 14, 2009, that is!

The weather forecast for the weekend was looking to be too good to be true. And so even though I had sworn off hills the week before at the Bobcat Trail Marathon, I found myself wanting to take a shot at a hilly 50K. I hadn't confirmed my entry by the deadline so I wasn't sure I would even be able to "officially" get in. But that was OK because this wasn't a typical race. This wasn't an "official" anything. This was a group run organized on Facebook. No entry fee. No course support (even though there was). Finishers even got a sweet shirt! We just showed up, dropped off our gear and nutrition at the staging area, and ran.

For anyone interested, here's a link I'm going to try posting for the first time that will show all the data from the run: distance, pace, elevation, etc... Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Bill's Bad Ass 50K. I'm hoping it will work OK.

The sun peeking into the Cuyahoga Valley where all our gear was placed and where we would return each lap to log our time and refuel.

Although we numbered more than the event organizers expected, we weren't a large group.

The Bad Ass course consisted of 6 loops of the 5 mile Perkins Trail, followed by a half mile out and back section which took us up and back down a huge set of log steps. I actually enjoyed the course. There was a tough uphill section at the beginning of the loop, but we were blessed with some flat sections to recover. The final two miles were flat to downright downhill, which made finishing each loop a pleasure. So, without anymore delay, onto a photographic report of the day!

Just after the start I found myself running behind Austin, whom I had run with for a few miles at Run With Scissors and worked with at the North Coast 24 Hour Run.

The covered bridge, which we ran over twice each loop, going out and coming back in.

Ladd and I ran together for the entire 50K. Here he is, having ditched the pants and top layer, but still sporting the gloves.

Part of the initial uphill section of the first mile and a half or so.

We ran this downhill section the first loop but decided to walk it each time after. It was just too steep and the layer of leaves prevented you from seeing any rocks or holes.

I decided to wear black and black because it's something Chuck D. would do!

Looking back up the hill we just came down.

I was really surprised to find traces of green scattered here and there...

because every other leaf had turned brown and fallen down!

Ladd was working to keep our pace honest, which is why he will be in many of the photos!

See what I mean?

The landscape in that area is truly spectacular.

This sweeping downhill rapidly took us back down to the valley floor. It was a joy to run early, but by the fifth and sixth laps it was hammering the quads!

A fabulous pine tree stand. As I mentioned in the Bobcat report, I loved the changes running under these trees. It was quieter and the light was different.

Here we're about to catch a fellow wearing an HFP Maumee Bay Triathlon shirt. I was able to talk with him about Steelhead, IM's Louisville, Lake Placid, and Wisconsin. He ended up finishing right after us.

Here we're about to be joined by Chef Bill Bailey, one of the two Bills who put on this fine event! Thanks for your hard work Bills!

Chef Bill and Ladd.

Somewhere into the third (?) loop I started getting goofy with the camera. I call this, "Being Chased by a Horny Deer."

For a day in mid-November, we were blessed with something from early September. The grass in the field behind the staging area looked so green all morning.

Passing through the covered bridge again.

The stream that passed under the bridge on it's way to join the mighty Cuyahoga River.

Looking back at the bridge as we're about to plunge back in to the trees.

The Perkins Trail awaits us with it's climbs and roots and rocks. But fortunately not much mud and relatively easy water crossings.

Looking back at one of the simple water crossings.

The uphills were beginning to wear on me.

Ladd didn't seem to have any problems with them.

Low angle shot.

High speed shot.

High angle shot.

I always felt better when running through my pine trees.

Everett Road. We got to cross it each loop on our way back down.

Ladd running through the pine trees.

Ladd running through a field of some large grasses. There was also a pile of horse poop here that someone stepped in, breaking it open to fill the air with it's wonderful aroma.

The tall grasses, which I've seen elsewhere but don't know the name of.

Almost back to the covered bridge and the staging area, running with Mike K. and another gentleman.

Mike and Ladd heading for the covered bridge and the end of yet another loop.

Stopping to take photos proved to be a nice way to catch a little rest. Here you can see my shadow resting before descending that big downhill.

And here I am doing the descending.

Water crossing.

Another water crossing.

This lady followed us for a while. We offered to let her pass us, but she declined saying that her horse was enjoying catching us. She didn't know it, but she was really pushing us. We ran up sections we would have walked just so we wouldn't slow her down too much.

Back into my pine trees.

This was the greenest section we ran through.

Marsha joined us for our last loop, number 6.

Uncharted territory: Mile 27 +!

I was thrilled to be going farther than I ever had before.

Marsha planted one foot into the water immediately after I took this photo.

Ladd was concerned about Marsha making it safely across this crossing, but notice that he's not helping her too much!

Upon reaching the staging area for the sixth time, we crossed the road and picked up a new trail which had these babies waiting for us!

I was so happy to climb them!

So was Ladd!

Marsha? Not so much!

After finishing the steps we wound down the trail for a little bit until we came upon that which we were seeking: Dum Dum's!

Time to head back with our treasure.

I picked a cherry Dum Dum.

It was good!

I kind of suspected it on the way up the stairs, that the way down would be much more difficult!

And it certainly was!

Marsha wasn't happy about going back down them either.

But the finish was waiting for us at the bottom. 31 miles in 6:46. A sub-7 hour fun run!

A new distance record deserves a thumbs-up!

I truly believe the great weather really made this race as enjoyable as it was. I had so much fun running that kind of distance that I'm looking forward to my next scheduled 50K and possibly beyond that distance. I was tired afterward, yes, but nowhere near as sore as I get road running. Trail running is amazing in that way! The hills will really get you, but taken as a whole it's much easier on the body.

After cleaning up and a short rest we were off to dinner at The Melting Pot, which was described in the previous post. I can't believe it's taken me an entire week to get this race report up, but at least it's done. What else has happened since? Well, Thursday I met with Roy, Shannon, and Patrick in Hinckley for 13 miles of night trail running and just this morning I hit the mountain bike trails in Reagan Park for 9 miles. Tomorrow is the Fall Classic Half Marathon and once again I will be driving up and registering "day of". I don't know how fast I'll be able to run it, but at least the weather will be pleasant this year.

A Quick Saturday Recap

This week is shaping up to be no different from last week: Busy! The 50K went very well on Saturday, with Ladd and I running it in 6:46. I have another slew of photos to post, which is what is holding up my race report. I'm hoping to get a start on it tonight.

Saturday evening, Jr. P and I took the Mrs. out for dinner to celebrate her birthday (number 29, I think ; ) We made the trip up 271 to Legacy Village to dine at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant. We had never been there before and have heard great reviews about it.

The birthday girl had some champagne concoction.

Jr. was surprised to see his frozen milkshake substitute.

I enjoyed a single glass of red.

Although the food was very tasty, the experience is what you're really paying for here. And as I wasn't feeling 100%, having just run 31 miles a few hours earlier, I couldn't enjoy the whole experience as much as I could have. Live and learn, I suppose. We would like to make a return trip sometime, if only to enjoy the cheese and dessert courses!

We demolished the dessert course, which had us dipping strawberries, bananas, brownies, rice crispy treats, and cheesecake into dark chocolate!

Keep an eye out for my Bills' Bad Ass 50K race report soon. (I hope)

2009 Bobcat Trail Marathon

It's Friday afternoon and it's about time I finished this race report! Believe it or not, I have been working on this almost every day since Monday. Well, I have! The whole photo thing really slowed me down this time. I have been working with images from two cameras, two brands of cameras no less, I had to run the images through two different software programs, upload them, and then put them in order inside of Blogger. Trust me, it was work!

The Bobcat Trail Marathon was technically a race, although I wasn't technically racing it. I was trying to have fun. I equate trail running with having fun. Road racing is work, but trail running is enjoyable. So, armed with my trusty new Pentax digital camera, I set out for 26.2 miles of uphills, dirt, leaves, roots, uphills, rocks, mud, pavement, uphills, downhills, water, uphills, crevices, horse poop, and uphills. Did I mention uphills?

We arrived at Burr Oak State Park on Saturday afternoon. Let me just say that the drive down was "interesting". I would consider seeing a good-ol-boy driving a red pick-up truck drinking a beer with his 10 year old son next to him to be interesting, wouldn't you? Ah, the differences between southern Ohio and the rest of the state. After arriving unscathed from our drive down through all the twisting and turning, the ups and downs, the blind turns, and, if I may be frank, the rural poverty which I have never personally witnessed in Ohio, we checked into our mildly reconditioned late 1960's era room. I'm not complaining at all. Don't get me wrong, the lodge was in very good condition and clean. Our room was spacious and had it been in a major metro area, cost a great deal more per night than we paid. But there were definitely some things that were showing their age. And something bit up my ankle pretty good, and I don't think it was from the run through the woods.

I must take some time to thank the lovely Mrs. P for both being my crew during the race and acting as race photographer. I don't think I could have finished as well without her help. She had my special Gatorade mixture waiting for me at each aid station and snapped away with her camera at the same time.

My official time was 5:16:51, placing me 9/25 in my AG and 41/128 overall. I was hoping to finish a teeny bit faster than that, but I was surprised by the difficulty of the course and just could not go any faster in the final sections of the race. The race website promoted the course as having 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, but my Garmin showed over 5,ooo feet! That would certainly explain why I was so exhausted trying to finish the last 5 miles or so. And again, I never really thought of it as a race any way. I was just hoping to have a fun time and enjoy myself. The weather turned out to be absolutely perfect, so there was no reason to not have a good time.

So, with two cameras on site, please enjoy a visual documentation of the day:

Burr Oak Lodge on race morning. It was probably mid 40's overnight, giving the morning just the slightest nip. It certainly warmed quickly!

Getting a couple sips of last minute hydration. Had I any idea just how warm the day would become, I would have chugged a bit more before the start.

The Start/Finish line.

Race start.

Here I come with a big smile on my face!

My smile quickly faded as we began a nearly 3/4 mile climb on the road.

Coming into the first water stop I was prepared to drop my gloves and long sleeve outer layer. The fist section of trails was narrow, leaf strewn, rocky, was mostly up or down, and was very indicative of what the rest of the day would hold.

After dropping the shirt and gloves, I grabbed a cup of water from the nearby aid table and headed back into the woods.

The sights along the second section of trail were amazing. I could only imagine what it must have looked like only a couple weeks earlier when all the leaves were ablaze and still upon the trees. The lake was to become our running partner, always somewhere nearby and usually within view as we made our way around it.

Here's a good example of what the trail looked like throughout the course. Usually completely covered with leaves, it was hard to spot sometimes. Fortunately, after a few miles it became easier to find.

Running these trails demanded nearly complete concentration. I could only slightly admire my surroundings while on the move.

Exiting the woods into Aid Station 1.

Refueling on Fig Newtons and Pepsi!

Time to hit the road.

The scene just around the bend from Aid Station 1.

It was very scenic!

At the dam.

I'm way down on the left taking a photo...

... of the reservoir!

Heading into Aid Station 2 after crossing the dam levy.

Refueling time! Pepsi and PBJ sandwiches this time.

And some potato chips!

Back on the trail with a handful of chips. They became my favorite food that day.

The change in sound, smell, and light quality when we would run through a stand of pine trees was a very noticeable and a welcome relief from the blanket of dead leaves.

Looking back across the reservoir at the dam levy I had crossed a little earlier.

The light coming through the trees was spectacular at times.

Can you find the trail here? Amazing that I only got off course a couple times!

Heading into Aid Station 3. Time to refill my bottles.

After Aid Station 3, we ran down the road a bit, crossed the intersection, and were met by this hill. You can only see the beginning of it. It was a doozy!

My Forrest Gump wave!

Fellow MCRR member Daniel B. was smoking the course. I was just behind him for a while, but I could never catch him. He ended up pulling away from me as the race went on.

Here I am coming into Aid Station 4.

Although I look like I'm having tons of fun, I'm not.

I'm starting to lose my sanity at this point. We had a monster of a climb to get to this aid station and my legs were burning and beginning to rebel.

Pepsi and/or Mountain Dew and what looks like another Fig Newton. Although I think I had a few different things to eat while I was there.

I think I chugged some water as well. I was sweating a ton and knew I had to keep my fluid intake up.

Potato chips. My salty friends!

Chug-a-lug!

Belching? Maybe. But more likely saying something inspirational in a deluded sort of way.

H2O Tower.

Yet another of the sweet climbs along the course.

The view from the top of the above climb.

An unexpected meadow to run through. Look, no roots! But watch out for the wet mushy spots!

Coming into the 6th and final Aid Station. There was no crew access to #5, hence no pics.

I was thirsty, hungry, tired, sore, exhausted, drained, and whatever other words that would fit here.

I didn't know this would be the last Aid Station until Mrs. P told me.

Don't remember what I was looking back for. Maybe it was to try and see the bear I thought I heard. Maybe I was just fried in the head.

The final section of the course was by far the hardest and most challenging.

The trail seemed more uneven. There were more leaves covering more roots and rocks.

It certainly had it's views along the way.

But the flat sections were few and far between.

I think I may have tripped on every possible root on that trail.

We crossed a few bridges during the run, but this was the most substantial.

Ron, from Medina, with his daughter Tracey. She won her age group and was all smiles while I was still trying to finish. Ron unfortunately turned his ankle about 10 miles in and had to withdraw. Mrs. P told me about his injury earlier, which may have been partly why I slowed down a bit. But only partly. It was a tough course!

A welcome oasis in the woods with some very motivational content!

The going was much easier back on the road coming into the finish.

Finally done! I needed a shower I was so encrusted with salt.

The Bobcat was supposed to finish my "Gauntlet" consisting of three marathons in 8 weeks. I added Run With Scissors in there to give me four marathons in 8 weeks. It sounded more daunting than it actually was. The road races banged me up for a while, but these trail runs are great! As long as you don't pull a Ron, I suppose.

I know I should be tired after all the running this fall, but I'm not yet. Even though I swore off hills after Bobcat, I'm planning on running even more tomorrow. Ladd and I are going to drive over and run Bill's Bad Ass 50K. It's in the Valley on one of the more challenging trails. Lots of hills! The weather is supposed to be sublime and I'm looking forward to having a good time. It will be my first "Ultra"! I'm sure to be taking lots of photos!

A Tale of Two Showrooms

Yesterday we returned the '06 Jeep Grand Cherokee lease we've had for the last 39 months. The dealer we got it from originally, has been among the many to lose their Chrylser/Jeep franchises. The dealer we were instructed to return it to is a Dodge dealer, among other brands. Let me say, the showroom was completely empty when we arrived. Not a person to be seen. We eventually met our contact person coming around a corner. We took care of all the end-of-lease stuff fairly quickly and easily. On our way out, all the salesmen had appeared. Turns out they were in a meeting earlier. But the place was still dead. It must not have been a good meeting.

To contrast that, we left, heading directly across the street to the Honda dealership where we had leased our Civic from in May. What a difference! The showroom was full. People were talking and laughing. We were greeted immediately by one gentleman while others were taking phone calls. We met with our salesman Tom, easily and painlessly taking delivery of our new CRV. Which is so much more versatile than the Jeep was, by the way.

Two dealers, separated physically by just a road, but so much farther apart than that.

2009 Run With Scissors

I awoke last Sunday morning at 2:00 AM. Why would I want to do that? I had a race of course! More of a run than a race, really. It was a "fun run"! It also started at 5:00 in the morning, so I had to get up very early to accommodate. I took part in the Run With Scissors Trail Marathon +. There was also a double marathon, but I wasn't planning on running that far. Not yet, anyway. The + part means the distance was slightly over 26.2 miles. As far as I know, the distance was about 26.7 miles for the single loop.

The run was great! We began in the dark and we ran in the dark for the better part of the next three hours. I found myself off-course twice, having missed turn markers. There were hills, rocks, roots, mud, hills, steps, horse poop, mud, water crossings, and hills. It was an AWESOME course! I really can't wait to run it again next year! Here are some photos from the event:

Here we are lined up for the start. I'm on the far right.

A view from the valley floor just after sunrise.

The Sound of Music Hills on the return trip. It had been totally dark the first time we crossed them.

A better resolution image of the Sound of Music Hills. They were before mile 4 on the way out and just after mile 22 on the way back!

About to finish the Marathon +.

This was the turn around point for the Double Marathon. Those runners needed to turn around and do it all over again!

Muddy shoes: Check!

Wet and muddy socks: Check!

Cold, tired, and wrinkled feet: Check!

My "tires" were in need of some serious cleaning after this event!

The weather for this run was amazing. The course was really hard, but tons of fun. My first trail race was supposed to be Bobcat next weekend, but I ended up signing up for this one at the last moment. I am so glad I did. Not only does it give me a really good idea of what to expect next weekend, but I would have missed an absolutely perfect running experience had I missed it. I'm already looking forward to next year's event (which may be on Halloween morning) and I'm thinking about definitely going longer.

But for now, it's off to work, where I will gaze longingly out the window at the sunshine because it will be almost dark by the time I get to leave the office.

Last Thursday's Return to the Trails

I was really looking forward to returning to the secluded trails of the Hinckley Reservation last week. I had gone WAY too long without running there. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when no one else was there upon my arrival. I waited a couple minutes while gathering my gear, and still when no one arrived, I set off alone into the woods. Here are some pictures I captured on film of my adventure. That's right, FILM! I stopped by Dodd Camera, picked up a new battery, and a roll of film just for the occasion. This little 35 mm camera is smaller than any of the digital cameras we have. Enjoy!

My run took me out the Bridle Trail to Parker Rd., which is 4.5 to 5.0 miles. All the photos were taken while en route to the turn around point, because I was rapidly loosing daylight. By the time I reached Parker Rd., dusk had fallen, and it was time to put on my new headlamp and give it a try.

I had spotted what I thought were bats, while it was still light enough to see, on the way out. I assumed they were still flying just above my head in the dark, even though I couldn't see them. What other creatures would be out in the dark? What creatures would awaiting my return trip? By myself. I could not let thoughts like that penetrate my imagination or I was seriously screwed. So with a blank mind I set off back down the path.

The run back was uneventful, though lonely. The darkness of the night combined with my understanding that I was far removed from other human beings as to create a physical weight upon my shoulders. With the realization of my isolation weighing down on me, I ran.

Fortunately I was familiar with the trails and knew which direction to take at each fork I came to. Had I been any less familiar with them, I would have been in some real trouble. But I arrived back at the car in one piece. The rustlings in the woods did not follow me out. Or did they? I did hear something on the fallen leaves, so it was a quick unload into the trunk and then I was in the car with the doors locked, engine started, and on my way home.

This was my first trail run in the dark. My second run in the dark was going to come only three days later. But that's a different story.

2009 Columbus Marathon

As the sun slowly sets over the horizon, the lights begin to come on in downtown Columbus. The view out our window at the Doubletree over the Scioto River is amazing. We stayed at this hotel once before, for the Genesis concert last year. We had the view that time as well, which made it easy to decide to stay here again. This year we had made it through all the running around: The drive down from Medina, finding Sugardaddy's Bakery and purchasing some succulent brownies, stopping for lunch at Max and Erma's, getting to the expo in the convention center and dodging all the cheerleaders who were there, checking in at the hotel, stopping at Easton to visit the LEGO Store and Glad Tidings, dropping Bailey off with his great-grandparents in Johnstown, driving back into Columbus and picking up dinner at Plank's, and finally unloading the car and getting into the room. It was a busy Saturday! As nightfall descends, Mrs. P and I are ready to eat and get to sleep. We've got a busy day awaiting us.

The view from our window at around 5:00 AM.

The night passed both slowly and quickly. We fell asleep easily enough, only to be awoken by a crying baby from the next room at 1:30. Even with the TV back on, I had a hard time falling back to sleep. What is with our luck staying downtown and having noisy neighbors? I was up first, promptly at 4:30, and nothing was moving down on the street. I was hungry so breakfast consisted of not only the peanut butter and jelly on bread I had intended, but the rest of the pizza from the night before, as well as some delicious brownie. Add to that some Gatorade/Motortab mixture and a few sips of coffee, and I was ready, figuratively bouncing off the walls and literally jumping on the bed! The odd thing was, considering how hard I was planning to run, I felt absolutely NO PRESSURE. I felt GREAT! I knew I was going to have a FUN race. I was thrilled to be feeling that way.

Plank's has the best pizza we've had anywhere! Romeo's back home is a close second. I mean, where else can you get a pepperoni and bratwurst pizza?

Gear bag is stuffed and ready to be handed to the people at the truck. Just some warm clothes to put on afterward.

Cold morning temps meant sleeves. But I wasn't planning on wearing too much.

The walk from the hotel to the starting area didn't take long at all, and we were there within a couple minutes. We were going to try to meet up at a specific meeting place with the other Medina runners, but that kind of fell through. I found Rachel easily enough as I was handing over my gear bag. She looked as excited and relaxed as I felt. That was a good thing. We both had big plans for the day and didn't need nerves getting in the way.

We left to get in line a hair later than I would have liked. The corral was already shoulder to shoulder so we walked forward on the sidewalk and hopped the fence just behind the 3:10 pacer. We were up far. Nearly as far forward as at Rite Aid, but with much less room to move around. After only a few minutes it was nearly start time. The National Anthem sounded good but there was no military fly-over. With only a of couple minutes left, I decided to ditch the garbage bag I had been wearing. We were ready to get the show started and see if all our training would yield the results we desired.

Race start!

I could go through a mile by mile account of our race. But that's not the most exciting thing for anyone to read, nor is it entirely necessary. Our race was one thing: Consistent! We ran behind the 3:10 pacer and stayed there. We didn't deviate pace. We didn't slow down. We didn't speed up. We grabbed fluids at every aid station and I took a race split at every mile marker. And man, did those mile markers come by us quickly! We were cruising, and if felt great! The pacer knew his stuff and brought us through each mile slightly ahead of pace, building us a little cushion for the later miles.

Running through German Village nearing mile 11.

Rachel and I ran together for nearly the entire 26.2 miles. We both started feeling tired at about the same time, but my legs began getting pretty stiff not too long after that. Going around a turn in Upper Arlington, she had a bit of a gap on me, and I could not close it. I maintained the distance for a mile or so, but there was no way I was going to close that distance. When she pulled past the pacer at about mile 21 or 22, I decided the best place for me was to stay with the group. I was able to hang with the now much smaller pace group up until mile 23, when I began slowing a bit to prevent all-out cramping in my legs. They were right there on the verge and I wanted to avoid that at all costs.

My final miles were solo miles, the first of the race. Oh, there were plenty of other runners around me still, but I was no longer part of a group, and my running partner was somewhere up ahead about to smash her previous PR. So I put my head down and pushed. It was hard and it hurt, but I've been in much more pain than that before. So much more pain that I realized I was feeling good by comparison. I needed to keep control of my thoughts. Everything could still be undone if I began getting panicky.

So I ran. And I would check my splits every so often to see where I was. I couldn't let the fear of being caught by the 3:15 group take control of me. I couldn't let my imagination show me getting passed by them and not being able to keep up with them. I had only a couple miles left. I could make it. As my mile splits began to prove to me, I wasn't slowing as much as I feared. I was running faster than at Rite Aid. I wasn't going to let myself be caught. And I wasn't going to waste all the hard work I had put in. Not in the last miles I wasn't!

Coming around Goodale Park, there were volunteers handing out chocolate buckeyes. I knew I wasn't going to be eating anything right then, but I saw a few children holding out their arms, each holding a buckeye and made my decision. I got my candy buckeye from a little boy, there with his family. I offered him a genuine "thank you" and made as nice a smile as I could. You can't say no to kids at these things. It turns out the chocolate confections were all wrapped in plastic. This little piece of candy was going to get me to that finish line. I tucked it into the palm of my hand and kept running.

The crowds heading into the Arena District really started to grow shortly after that. All the noise and cheering helped to propel me along. The pain began to fade to just a memory. The finish was almost here and this was the part I needed to enjoy. The part I needed to take in. To remember.

Check my watch.

3:15 group hadn't caught me.

I was going to go to Boston!

Up a hill and a right turn with crowds lining both sides of the street now, many people deep. So much noise that I couldn't hear anything else. There was the finish line. I could see the race clock now, showing 3:11. I really was going to make it.

But wait! I didn't start when the gun went off. We were too far back to start moving right away. My chip time has a discrepancy to the official time. I check my watch again. It's below 3:10. If I pick up my pace, I can beat 3:10:59 and qualify in the 18 - 34 year old bracket. I don't sprint, I can't do that now anyway. But I can stride. And I begin to pick it up. Oh, and don't forget to smile. I was going to f***ing Boston! That deserved a smile!

And then I was crossing the line. And I was done. I wasn't glad to be done. I wasn't happy it was over. I was ecstatic I had finally achieved the goal I had been chasing since early this year. That little buckeye was just burning a hole in my hand. And I was grateful.

Finish line photos:

Rachel was there at the finish line waiting for me. She ran a 3:08! Finished 4th in her AG! And 19th overall female! My official time was 3:10:44. I finished 45th of 416 in my AG and 274th of 4118 total finishers. And you know me. I've gotta' list my splits, so here they are:

7:37 / 7:01 / 7:14 / 7:18 / 7:06 / 7:05 / 7:18 / 7:17 / 7:01 / 7:05 / 7:07 / 7:16 / 7:07 / 7:24 / 7:24 / 7:18 / 7:11 / 7:16 / 7:11 / 7:03 / 6:59 (Are you kidding me?) / 7:00 / 7:08 / 7:36 / 7:53 / 8:09 / 1:35 (final .2).

That sub-seven minute mile for mile 21 elicited a much deserved F-bomb from me as I took that split. I managed to hang tough for two more miles before beginning to slow down. But where my pain-filled slow miles at Rite Aid were in the nine minute mile range, these final miles were great! I'm so glad I had that five minute cushion to work with.

Everyone else who made the trek to Columbus had a successful day as well. Mrs. P, Mrs. P's mom, and Janet all PR'd in their half marathons, and Ladd helped pace Jeannine to a PR sub-4 hour marathon! Everyone had a good day.

But no rest for the weary. As I type this, Marsha and Charles are preparing to run their own sub-4 hour marathons at Niagara Falls and Ladd is hoping to hit his BQ time of 3:20:59. Godspeed to you all!

As for me, on one week's rest I'm planning on running the Run With Scissors Trail Marathon tomorrow morning. Just for fun, of course. Road races are hard work but trail running is fun!

And now that I'm finally done, I'm going to go downstairs and eat that Buckeye I've been saving since last week at mile 25.5.

Catching Boston

I've been chasing my Boston Marathon qualifying time for most of 2009. I'm very happy to say that yesterday in Columbus, I finally caught it. I needed a 3:15:59 and I ran a 3:10:44. I qualified with a time that's good for the 18 - 34 age group! I'm very sore today, with aches all over the place. Look for a detailed race report soon!

A Little Bit of Confidence

After last night's track workout, I've found just a little bit of confidence that I might be able to finish in under 3:15:59. For the past few weeks I have felt sluggish and tired when running. The speed sessions have been OK, but trying to run at race pace out on the road has been tough. Maybe because I've been out doing that alone and on the track I've had company, people to keep my pace honest and to push me. The problem is, there is only a handful of people I run with who push me.

Pete, whom I haven't seen since February, was just finishing last night when I arrived. It turns out he had knee surgery over the summer and is just getting back into running again. Maybe I can actually keep up with him now! Bob was there, but he was just doing some easy laps, still recovering from the NC 24 and possibly preparing for another 24 hour run in Iowa. And then there was Rachel, who has probably pushed me harder than just about anyone else. She's incredibly fast and it's about all I can do to keep up with her sometimes.

We ran 3 X 1 mile repeats at marathon race pace last night. After some of our workouts, it felt incredibly easy and I couldn't believe just how fast we were really going. Each mile was under 7:15, which is our target pace for Sunday. Rachel and I are going to run together in Columbus, lining up with the 3:10 pace group. She only needs a 3:40 to qualify for Boston, but she can go much faster than that, as witnessed by her 1/2 marathon PR of 1:28! I need a 3:15, but the extra cushion might be a good idea. We can at least keep each other motivated and although I like going it alone, having a friendly face with you along the way makes things just a tiny bit easier.