Good morning and happy Friday, my friends!
I’m really excited to share today’s post. It’s time again to kick off Cleveland Marathon training and I’m sharing my training approach, race goal, and a few reasons why I think you should join me in Cleveland in May.
Let’s recap my experience running CLE, shall we?
In 2016, I ran the full marathon and finished in 4:50:27. It was my fifth, and what I thought would be my final marathon. It was SO TOUGH – physically and mentally. I didn’t think my body could do that again. I’m a sucker for a good deal though, and ended up running Northern Ohio in 2017 for a whopping $26.20. I ran a strong race, and immediately ran home to game plan for 2018.
As I looked to my race calendar for the next year, I felt called back to Cleveland. A little redemption, if you will. I served as a Race Ambassador and loved getting to connect with so many of you as we experienced the Cleveland Marathon together. I ran the 8K/26.2 Challenge Series and came in with a personal marathon best of 4:11:26.
There’s just something special about running in CLE, and I’m so excited to serve as a Race Ambassador again this year. Here’s why I think you should join me!
- Cleveland is a big city with a small city feel. The people here genuinely love and take pride in their city. You’ll likely see clusters of neighbors and friends out cheering you on as you run through downtown and out into the suburbs on race day!
- Whether you’ve lived here for years or are thinking about visiting for the first time, the Cleveland Marathon course is a great way to see many of the landmarks, like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- With race distances including 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 8K, 5K, 1 mile, Kids Run, and Challenge Series options – there’s something for everyone!
- The course is flat, fast, and FUN!
- You can save 10% on your race registration using code TN2019. Who else loves a good deal? 😉
Now that I’ve convinced you to join me, let’s talk race goals.
My A goal for Cleveland is to run a sub 4:00 marathon.
Here’s the thing, friends. Some people would call that slow. Others would call it fast. For me, it’s fast. It’s a goal that is going to take effort, and I’m really excited about it.
STAY IN YOUR LANE AND STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS!
YOU. AREN’T. THEM.
YOU DO YOU.
Achieving this goal is going to take some serious effort on my end. I had heard great things about the Run Less, Run Faster method, and after a great deal of research I decided to follow the marathon training plan outlined in the book. I’ll share why I chose the method in an upcoming post, but encourage you to check out the book for all the juicy details.
Thinking you’d like to #runCLE? Click here to register (don’t forget to use code TN2019 to save 10%!) then pop back here to share your race goal in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on!
Too excited to wait until May? Join us at the Cleveland Marathon Kick Off Runs!
January 12 – Pepper Pike
January 19 – Westlake
Happy running, friends!
