I’m really glad that I decided to run this race even if it was kind of a last-minute decision so that I wasn’t able to train as much as I would’ve liked to. I absolutely love Lake Erie and just being near water in general. It would be incredible to have a beach house one day. Both my family and my husband’s family live near there, so I had a lot of support. My dad even came out to cheer me on! He has a lot of health problems, so it is difficult for him to get around. Also a huge shout out to my mom for coming. She’s a nurse with a crazy work schedule, so she was functioning on basically no sleep. It meant the world to me that so many people came out to watch me run.
Expo/Packet Pickup:
This day was also my sister-in-law’s wedding day. It was such a chilly and rainy day! I felt awful for her, but her and her husband didn’t seem to be phased by it. I was having anxiety because I was pretty traumatized by how awful the weather was at the Rock’n’Roll DC half that I ran back in March. I really didn’t want a repeat situation like that.
This is a really small race which is capped out at 2,500 people so there really wasn’t much of an expo. It was basically nonexistent by the time that I got there to pick up my packet a half an hour before it ended. I found out that there had been a few vendors earlier in the day, but they had packed it up because of all of the rain. I really didn’t mind at that point since I was pretty tired from the cake making and wedding attending festivities. I was able to grab my packet and shirt and head out in just a few minutes. Easy-peasy!
I stopped for a quick pic on the rainy beach on my way out. I tried to take the pic with my race bib, but it was way too windy for that.
The Night Before:
The nice thing about the wedding being so early was that I was still hungry for my traditional pre-race dinner. We had the usual Wegman’s frozen veggie pizza with white sauce for dinner so as not to mess with my routine and stomach any more than I already had the past two weeks.
Everyone else went to the bar, but my husband, daughter and I just hung around his mom’s house and relaxed. I set out all of my race day essentials and what I thought that I wanted to wear. I had a backup outfit in case it felt too cold in the morning. I tried to get to bed as early as possible in hopes of getting some sleep. I was so worried about the rain that I was up constantly though. I think it finally stopped some where after 2am. 
Race Morning:
I had some fancy Keurig coffee and made my ritual pre-race breakfast: PB & honey sandwich with bananas and cinnamon. My stepsister-in-law apparently keeps bees now so she had brought some delicious honey with her from Wisconsin. I tried to be quiet sneaking around the house so that I didn’t wake everyone up.
I didn’t understand why the race could only accommodate 2,500 runners until that morning. Traffic was a nightmare! I was glad that I got there so early, but the start of the race actually ended up being delayed 15 minutes because traffic was still backed up with runners trying to park for the race. Part of this was due to one of the parking lots that they had planned to use being flooded.
Once I parked and got all situated, I wasn’t sure where to go then I realized that there was a glow stick walk way. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but it looked really cool. I thought that was such smart idea.
I found my way to the port-a-potties, then once again later. The line was much worse by my second trip. I’ve never seen so many people just going in the bushes!
I walked around and stretched out. Right before the race was to start, I checked my bag. I’ve never done a bag check before because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle. I was nervous because there was a long line to check bags, but it went really quickly.
Next I went to find the 3:35 pace group, which was my goal time in hopes of qualifying for Boston.
The Race:
Finally at 7:15am we were off. I hated being crammed like sardines for an additional 15 minutes, but really it wasn’t that big of a deal.
I stuck with the 3:35 group for the first half and I felt great. I just kept telling myself that I could do it and I really believed it. Something happened around mile 13 and I just couldn’t hold that pace any longer. Perhaps I hit the proverbial wall. Perhaps it was my diet and sleep habits being totally out of whack for 2 weeks. Who knows, but I watched my Boston dream slip through my fingers as I fell further and further back.
By mile 24, I was pretty much done. Some lady was running near me and saying how she was over this and was ready to be done. My thoughts exactly! I saw another struggling runner too and my heart went out to her. I just kept running though. I knew if I stopped to walk for even a second that would be the end of it.
Right around mile 26 a bunch of vultures were circling over head and I was sure that they were coming for my dying body. I know this sounds dramatic, but that’s really how I felt at that point.
It was at that point that I saw my husband, daughter and my husband’s mom and step-dad. My husband said that the finish line was right around the corner and I kicked it up to finish as strong as I could at the point. After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed a Tru Moo chocolate milk and got wrapped in my fancy foil blanket. I also got a Tru Moo sweat towel. How exciting! My mom and dad were waiting with my favorite G2 raspberry lemonade and some beautiful flowers for me. 
I’m still very proud of myself for finishing strong. I really do think that my sleep and diet being off was a contributing factor to my slowing down, as well as not enough training. I still earned a 10 minute PR which is awesome and I’m that much closer to Boston. I’m only 13 minutes off what I need to qualify so I’m sure that I can reach that goal one day. I have my whole life. Boston I’m coming for you! 🙂
The rest of the day was mostly spent relaxing and eating. My in-laws took us out for a delicious brunch at The Breakfast Place.
Did you race this weekend or do you have a big race coming up?
Up next is Ragnar!
If you would like to help me reach my fundraising goal for Girls on the Run, I’m including the link below. Every little bit helps and would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!
Madeleines & Marathons 