Green Jewel 50K Race Report & Training Update for Canal Corridor 100

Prerace selfie with the hubby!

Saturday I ran the Green Jewel 50K for the third time...although this time it was a much different race for me than the past two years. For starters, it moved to June instead of March as originally scheduled. As you can imagine this made for a much warmer race. Also, the course was reversed to start in Brecksville and end in Rocky River. This means most of the climbing is done before you hit the Emerald necklace. Finally, I have been training intently for the Canalway 100 next month and never really planned to race this so I ran my first ever 100 mile week last week and then only tapered for two days leading into this. A friend of mine suggested that I race the 50K and then run the next day early on tired legs to simulate how I will feel at the end of the 100. Okay, I thought that made sense so I listened. I decided to attempt to race this thing even thought I figured I would pay for this decision being as fatigued as I am.

Somewhere in my irrational mind I thought I might even be able to beat my time of 4:38 from last year. We started off in the park running straight up hill from Oak Grove at about an 8-8:15 mile pace. Ouch. This hurt. My legs were not happy and I was laboring from the start. Once you get off the trail you run some miles on Valley Parkway. There are some decent sized hills and I can recall my calves cramping up into painful little balls so I decided I would take a little walk break. I remember one of my splits being about 10 so I think I ran about 8 and then walked for 2 minutes. That helped. But this continued. It was the worst my calves have ever felt in a race and I debated dropping out and heading back to the car. Noway! I told myself you HAVE to run this race! What if this happens during your 100? You can't just give up! So onward I went. Fortunately I had a water bottle with Nuun with me as well because it was getting hot early on and without water and electrolytes the cramping in my calves probably would have been worse. Either way I knew this was going to be a long sufferfest!

By the first aid station at Ridge Road I was feeling a little better about my chances of surviving the race - mainly because we were heading downhill then. Although it is not the easiest thing to run fast down Ridge Road either. Ouch! Onward I went after a gel and some Tailwind. Around that time I was still trying for sub 9 for a bit but by 13 or 14 I really wasn't feeling great. I was sore, hot and just kindof apathetic about my chance at having a great race. Onward I went just trying to walk a little as needed to rest my tired body. I remember thinking it was taking forever to get to the check point at Wallace Lake. I was pretty excited to get my drop bag and get my Smuckers Uncrustable for a snack along with my GU Rocktane gel. But when I got there my bag was not there and I think we were at about 16.5-17 miles not 14 since the course was reversed. This was not good for my psyche and I was again cursing my decision to race this thing and I decided I would just survive it.

My friend Tony ran by and motioned for me to run with him and his group as I was walking and I said "I'm not racing it, just gonna finish it." Part of me wanted to quit, part of me wanted to walk it in and part of me just wanted to get it done as fast as possible. So I ran as fast as I could and then took walk breaks when I wanted to. I reminded myself that this race is the best training run I would have before Canalway. I couldn't just give in. I drudged on in the heat, took in some gels and tailwind and eventually found myself at the mile 27 aid station. I was pretty excited then to be close to the finish and my friend Jim was working the aid station and gave me some cheers and energy to move on.

I was able to run most of the end but did walk some of the uphill as I was pretty exhausted and hot. I was trying to break 5 hours at least but came up a little short at 5:08 and change. I finished 4th female, 1st in my AG. But really I was just happy that I pushed myself through a very, very tough day for me physically and mentally. I assume this is how it will feel during the 100. I am sure I will hurt like hell and I will want to quit a million times but will need to dig deep and find the strength to continue on towards the finish. I hope that this training I am doing now will make me strong enough physically and mentally to remain as focused and strong as possible.

Steph L, me and Steph I post race

After the race I went to the bathroom to change into dry clothes and then walked back over to the finish to watch for my friends (and fellow Cleveland Marathon Ambassadors) Stephanie L and Stephanie I. Both of them were standing there when I walked up. I was excited to see that they had both done well! Stephanie L had run her first 50K and rocked it and came in not too far behind me placing 2nd in our AG! Stephanie I and her teammate were the 2nd place womens' relay team! Steve also had a good race considering that he too is very fatigued he still placed in the top 10 and in his AG!

Post race Steve and I headed over to Fatheads for some hard earned burgers and hoppy beers! Then it was time to go home, shower, sleep and get up early to run on tired legs. Our plan was to get up in the wee hours of Sunday am and head to the Towpath for 8-10 in the dark. But at 3am I just couldn't drag myself out of bed so we snoozed and instead ran around 8am. It was already hot and muggy and we did 9 slow miles before having a snack and heading out on the cross bikes for an hour of fun biking. The week wrapped up with 60 miles of running, 30 miles of biking. Today I am resting but got in a nice lunch walk on the Towpath. I will try to get in one last big week of 90+ miles and start my taper about 2 weeks out on Sunday.

hard-earned hoppy beers at Fatheads post-race!

Cleveland Marathon Race Report

It was a very busy and exciting Cleveland Marathon race weekend this year! I finally got off the plane Friday from California around 7:15PM, hurried up to change into a dress and head downtown directly to the Marathon VIP Reception. It's always wonderful to see my fellow race ambassadors and their significant others as well as the marathon staffers. Although we were later to arrive than I hoped it was a fun and exciting night. Shortly after taking our annual group photos, my friend and fellow ambassador Melissa's boyfriend surprised us all and proposed right there in front of us!

The following day there was lots to get done including unpacking, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, hitting the race expo to pick up our bibs and goodies and then we had my Aunt Shelly's surprise 60th birthday party at 5:00. We got home around 8:00 and finished getting our stuff ready for an early race morning.

4:15am Sunday came early and we were up getting ready to race. I had been worried about the weather and how I would run all week. I had been pressuring myself to get the BQ again this season. The night before I decided if a BQ happened it happened but there is much more to running than that and certainly much more to life. There are the friends and family that make us feel special and inspire us so I decided to make my race about more than a BQ. I wrote down the names of my friends and family members that have had cancer and I dedicated the race to them. Perhaps that helped me to have a better race then I would have otherwise...

Prerace with fellow ambassadors

Steve had to be downtown by 6 to pace the 3:35 group so we got here early enough that I was able to see many friends before the race including most of my fellow race ambassadors. I even made the pre-race photo this year! Around 6:45 I ran over for one last potty break before lining up in the corral with the 3:35 group. Instead of worrying myself I tried to take in all the excitement.

The first couple of miles didn't seem too bad to me and then I started to feel hot and labor on some of the hills. I thought to myself this is not good. It's too early to work this hard...you're doomed! Then I told myself to just be quiet and steady. I got a pick me up around mile 8 or 10 when we saw our friend and Snakebite Racing team member Eric fanning in his speedo and cowboy hat!

Focused on the finish!

Around the halfway I just started running out of steam. I am not sure why. I decided to allow myself to slow down a little. I thought who cares if you can't hold onto the pace group you can just run alone at your pace. That's not that bad. So that's what I did. I held on and worked quietly at the pace that felt right for me. Before I knew it I was on mile 19 and I was working through the fatigue. I never really bonked. I never walked - just stopped for a quick drink or gel as needed. Most of my late miles were 8:40ish versus the 8:10 I hoped for but I did what I could do. There were more Snakebite, CTC and other friends out on the course cheering so it really helped me stick with it. I want to say thank you to everyone that volunteered at the race or came out to cheer. The crowd support was really solid this year!

The last few miles I thought I still had a chance to BQ so I ran my heart out and came up a little shy with a 3:41:21 - less than a minute and a half off. I finished with mixed emotions over doing my best but not succeeding at the BQ. In the end this was still a Cleveland course PR for me and it's the second fastest 26.2 I've run out of about 15 now so I am happy with my effort.

The weekend went so fast and there was so much excitement. After the marathon my friend Dan and fellow ambassador Stephanie got engaged also! You may have seen the video. It was super cute. He waited for her at the finish line and proposed right there! Even if she didn't have a PR this year I know she'll never be able to forget this year's race! And it brings me back to my point that there is more to running than just the numbers and the goals. It's the people we meet that become our friends and sometimes significant others that really make these events special. In fact when Steve and I first met our first official date was on my birthday several years ago at the Perfect 10 Miler race. Who would have known that running would bring me my very best friend and husband?!

I'm sure I will be back next year for another Cleveland Marathon - and with the extra 5 minutes I'll have to qualify for 2019 maybe I can actually BQ. Or maybe I will just run it for fun. I guess we'll see. I'm not giving up on that second BQ. I know it will come but now I have to switch my focus entirely to training for the Canal Corridor 100, which is only about 6 weeks away...eek! I have the Green Jewel 50K next, which I will likely use as a training race versus racing it. I need to practice my 25 minute run/5 minute walk approach for the big race! Plus I will have to get in another long run on Sunday.

The hard earned 40th anniversary medal! The race started just before I was born in 1978!

Training Update for HOF, Cleveland and Fundraiser for Mom

I have not been writing as much as I want to lately but I am running...a lot. I am back on the bike pretty regularly also. The swim is non-existent at this point but I am sure I will get back to it after my long races.

I raced a 5K a couple weeks back called Run to the Beach 5K. It was a tough course with much of it being on trails and some on the beach. Needless to say I did not PR but was able to get in some good speed work and came away with 3rd place female.

We are five days out from the Hall of Fame Marathon this Sunday! I am in full, cranky taper mode. The weather forecast looks hot, which I am not excited about! My plan is to run a 3:35. Hopefully it doesn't get too hot too soon or else this could be a training run for Cleveland.

The Cleveland Marathon is three weeks from Sunday (25 days out) so I am excited about running one of my favorite races of the season! I am hoping for better weather there this year! The Green Jewel 50K is few weeks after that.

Then it's the Canalway Corridor 100 mile run in 73 days! This is exciting and scary!!

My goal is to finish the 100 mile run in one piece! This is my first very long ultra and I am doing this to raise money for the lung association. This is an organization near and dear to my heart. My mother-in-law Barb was diagnosed with lung cancer this year. It has spread to her brain. This 100 mile race is for her - to encourage her to keep fighting! My husband is running the Burning River 100 as well. We have setup a fundraiser page for Mom here. Please consider making a small donation.

Also, as some of you might know my mother has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), also a disease of the lungs, mainly caused from years of smoking. So unofficially this race will honor her as well.