Race Review: Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon/Half Marathon/10k

As we waited in the starting corrals, the skies opened up and drenched everyone, which wasn’t too bad considering the temps were a steamy 68 degrees with humidity around 100%. I thought this was a good sign because I was starting cool, and I knew I would need to keep cool during 13.1 miles.

The corrals were neatly organized; I lined up with the 4:00 pacers, and there was lots of room to navigate. Actually, I had very little need to dodge runners because we all were on pace. That is very refreshing, as dodging and stutter steps tend to sap my energy, and I can’t keep myself from doing it if people are too close to me. Speaking of the pacers, one of them was calling out information about the city as we passed the landmarks. He was amazing.

The course is soooo fabulous, Peeps. Some of it was a blur, but I loved running around Tremont, Ohio City, and Edgewater. The crowd support was nice, although I didn’t see as many funny signs as I saw last year. I saw my friend Ed (who is a super-speedy runner) twice around Ohio City, and that gave me a nice boost for a while.

So, let me fill you in on how I handled the heat and humidity in this race. I’ll give you a hint: not well. I did a lot of stupid things during these 13.1 miles, and most of them were during the first 10k. First of all, I didn’t have any true time goals and I should have. Normally I have a secret goal that I would be ecstatic if I hit, a challenging goal that I’m pretty sure I can hit, and the “acceptable” goal that I won’t beat myself up about if I at least hit it. I didn’t have any of that. I just said, “Let’s see how I feel,” and that was stupid because I am never truly aware of how I feel in the moment.

Peeps, you are missing SO MUCH of my post! Click here to see awesome pics and to read about the whole experience from the Expo to the After-Party.

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