The final part of my Cleveland Marathon Race Recap is below!
Sunday of race weekend was the big event – the 2018 Cleveland Marathon! Ahhhh!
I woke up early enough to have my pre-race fuel (I usually do some type of bread-y carb like a bagel or sandwich thin with a little PB and a banana) and down some water before hitting the road for downtown. My parking plan – as usual – was just to get downtown early and find the closest open parking garage to the finish line. If you don’t know Cleveland though, the list of parking options the race staff kindly had put together would have been awesome to reference if this wasn’t already my plan!
It didn’t take me long to get downtown and parked. In a stroke of “you never know…” before heading out, I had grabbed a 1/4 zip (swag from a half marathon a few years ago) that was more wind/rain resistant than the shirt I had planned to wear over my tank. I am SO glad I did because I ended up wearing the 1/4 zip for almost the entire first half! It started drizzling just as I arrived downtown, so I threw the 1/4 zip on and pinned on my bib in the car before making my way to the start line outside of The Q (where the Cleveland Cavs play). Despite being early in the morning and somewhat rainy, downtown was buzzing with race day energy as runners, volunteers, staff, and spectators lined the streets. I ducked into a port-a-potty (short lines) before meeting up with my fellow Cleveland Marathon Ambassadors and CycleBar Hudson crew for pre-race photos.
It was AWESOME to get to see all of these inspiring people before we headed off on our own race adventures!
Before I knew it, we were all in the corrals and it was GO TIME! The first several miles I focused on enjoying the downtown sights and just accepted it was just going to be a wet one when I splashed into a puddle around a mile in to the race. Luckily, my feet survived – although around mile 16, Tim called to check in and I told him the only thing I absolutely wanted him to bring to the finish line were dry socks and shoes (ha!). The downtown miles flew by thanks to great spectators and entertainment, and then we headed out into the neighborhoods of Cleveland.
If you read this post, you know that I was going in undertrained – so I decided to run by feel rather than pace. It was when we hit the neighborhoods I realized that the race was feeling great, even considering the rain and cooler temps.
So, how was I feeling? Terrified I was going to crash and burn at the speed I was maintaining. Embracing how lucky I was to just be out there, healthy and physically able to do what I was doing. Smiling at every sign, kid who hopped into the road for a high five, and at every mile marker. I just kept running.
It hurt. All marathons do. But there’s a difference between painful discomfort and pain where you just know something is wrong. This was the kind of pain that only comes from doing something that challenges you more than you thought you could handle. You become stronger because you channel strength you never knew you had.
The last 10K felt so challenging and so wonderful. When I looked at my watch at Mile 25 and realized that even if I walked some of the final mile, I would PR, I nearly cried. The tears flowed as I started running back into the city.
4:11:26
A 10 minute, 30 second PR. I could not believe it.
Thank you SO MUCH to Tim, Ellie, and my mom and dad in law for coming to the finish! Knowing they were there kept me running that final mile. The post-finish endorphins kicked in and I couldn’t stop dancing and celebrating the PR. Mostly, celebrating that I didn’t let numbers hold me back. We get in our heads too much sometimes and while we need to be realistic, we need to dream and try.
In 2016, I ran this race in 4:50:27. That race broke me down in every way, yet I couldn’t wait to get back this year. That’s the magic of the Cleveland Marathon. There’s just something about running through this city that speaks to your soul.
Cleveland, I’m coming back for you. And I’m coming for that sub-4:00.
Oh, and would I do the challenge series again? HECK YES.
Thanks for an amazing race, Cleveland! It’s been an honor to be a race ambassador. See you again next year!
