Race Recap & Review: Akron Marathon Relay

In February 2014, I got an email from a few friends (that I'd just met at Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend) asking me if I wanted to be the fifth member of their marathon relay team for the Akron Marathon. Of course I said yes- that was the beginning of our running ohana; the group of running friends that have become family. We met on twitter and now meet a few times a year at races across the country.

Sadly, I didn't get to run in Akron 2014 because of my stress fracture. I went along for the weekend and cheered on my friends, vowing to return in 2015 and run the blue line with two, unbroken feet. 

This year, I would get my chance. 

Matthew and I signed up for the half (on 9/26) almost nine months ago. At some point, Chelsea invited me to run the first leg of the relay with her team. The plan was to run my relay leg (5.8 miles), hand off to Chelsea, remove my relay bib, and continue on to finish the half. 

Coach Jeff, Steff, her husband Joe, Lauren, her husband Mark, Nathan, Lauren H., Natalie, her husband Jimmy, and a bunch of Coach Jeff's "old guy running group" friends all planned on making the trip out to Akron, OH. Lauren and Mark ended up not coming out and we definitely missed them!

We all arrived in Akron on Friday afternoon and visited the expo. While this is a small expo, they did have some nice stuff. The hotel we stayed at was just a few blocks from the convention center (expo) and start/finish line so we were able to go back and forth all day.

Nathan, Coach Jeff, Me, and Matthew

This race offers a pasta dinner at the expo on Friday night and we all decided to go that route for our pre-race carb load. It was $20 per person and included pasta, salad, vegetables, and cheesecake. I think we'd definitely do this again- it was quick, easy, and tasty!

My right foot had been rocking all damn day. I'd had an x-ray the week before but no MRI so I was trying to take it easy as I was still suspecting a stress fracture. After the pasta dinner, I laid out my clothes for the race the next morning, keeping my fingers crossed that my foot would behave and let me finish the half marathon the next day. 

The crew.

Did I mention that Natalie was 7.5 months pregnant?!

Race morning. I got up and get dressed. Matthew got up... and immediately went back to bed, feeling super sick. He was feeling awful and running a fever- definitely not in any running condition. Heartbroken, he headed back to bed, reluctantly agreeing to skip the race due to illness. 

My foot was already bothering me but I met up with our ohana in the lobby of the hotel. Together, we walked up to the race start and got situated in the corrals. Steff was gunning for a PR so she started at the front of A. The others made their way to the relay stations or other corrals. Coach Jeff, Natalie, Jimmy, and I agreed that we would start together and hopefully stay together the whole race. And of course, no babies would be born on the course! :-)

We look pretty good for 7 am!

Our group of four started slow and steady. We did three minutes running, one minute walking. We chatted and ran and walked and laughed and the miles flew by. However, my foot kept hurting. It was a dull ache right in the area of my stress fracture. Soon enough, I saw the first relay exchange. I had been debating off and on the entire race of continuing to complete the half or to just cut out at the relay exchange. 

Hands up if you love running with friends!

I made the incredibly tough decision to stop. I handed off to Chelsea and watched her, Coach Jeff, Natalie, and Jimmy keep running. I stood there watching them and sobbing. I considered jumping back into the race for probably 10 minutes after they ran past me. I stood there at the relay exchange feeling super sorry for myself and blubbering on and on about my failure. 

After trying to call Matthew (he was still sleeping), I called my Dad and sobbed to him for a while. I knew this was the smart decision. Anytime there's pain, you should back off. But it still felt like utter and complete failure. I walked back to the hotel to check on Matthew. Luckily, he'd been able to get some sleep and was slowly starting to feel better. 

A very quick shower later, I went out to the finish area to get my post-race snacks: pizza, beer, chocolate milk, chips, etc. They had quite an awesome spread! I met up with Steff, Nathan, and Chelsea and we chatted for a while. 

Then we went back out on the course to cheer for the finishers, including looking for Coach Jeff, Natalie and Jimmy. 

Jimmy and Natalie trucking along towards the finish.

I ran/walked with Natalie and Jimmy until just before they entered the stadium and the final little section of the race. Coach Jeff had gone back on the course to run in one of his friends completing the full marathon. We got back into the finisher's area in just enough time to see Joe (Steff's husband) finish the marathon relay. 

All smiles for Joe at the end of the blue line.

Captain Chelsea's a popular gal with all that beer ;-)

Akron Marathon Relay Team 2015

While I'm disappointed I wasn't able to run the half marathon course, I did feel some sense of redemption by getting to run the first leg of the marathon- what I should have ran in 2014. 2014 was the year of the DNS- Did Not Start. 2015 brought my first DNF- Did Not Finish. At some point in every runner's career, a DNS or DNF will happen. This was mine. Looking back and knowing what I know now (that my foot is fine) makes it hard to not beat myself up about not finishing the half. But, I made the best decision I could with the information I had at the time; I can't ask myself for anything better than that.

I can't say enough great things about the city of Akron or this race. Well-organized from the expo to the starting corrals to the finish line party. The shirts, medals, and post-race food were all really high quality and made the whole experience feel very runner-focused. In short, this is an awesome race and I hope we keep doing this one every year. 

#runakron fans

Have you ever had a DNS or a DNF? How do you cope with the negative feelings it brings?

I'm back!

Hey y'all! Did you miss me?!

Things have calmed down (just a little, tiny bit) so I wanted to write a short post and just catch up a bit. For the last two years, I've posted here at least once week and it's helped keep me grounded and keep me connected with the running community. But this little break was so needed for my sanity.

I blog because I like to share my experience with others, connect with like-minded people, and keep myself accountable. But sometimes, it starts to feel like a job- one that I don't get paid for. Coming up with content, taking pictures, editing; it's a tremendous amount of work sometimes. I never want to feel like this blog is an obligation or a chore. So in the coming weeks, I'm going to be doing some soul searching on what this blog is about and where I want it to go. I just want to love it all the time, you know?

I feel the same way about running right now. For a long time, I loved, I mean, loved running. I wanted to do it all the time, I was obsessed with racing, and I was totally committed to training. And now, I like running. I'm not as "in love" with it as I was but I still want to do it... sometimes. Maybe I'm in a rut? I don't know. I'm looking forward to the Charles Street 12 this weekend and am totally pumped for the Akron Half Marathon in just a few weeks. But training? It's definitely taken a backseat to life. And my new job(s). And planning a wedding.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still working out. It's just more walking than running right now. I did get 10 miles of running in last weekend and I'm feeling somewhat prepared for the race this upcoming weekend. It's just been a struggle to get out and run lately. Matthew broke his arm in July and has been unable to run. So it's been tough going out and running alone. After years of training together, it's different and kind of sucky to do it alone.

I also know part of the problem is that I don't have any major goals right now to work toward. I've reached maintenance with my weight loss and I felt like I got the monkey off my back with the Pittsburgh Marathon. So now what?

I don't have the answer for that.  But I'm confident I will. Eventually. :-)

In the meantime, look for race recaps this week/weekend (Baltimore Women's Classic, SU Service Fun Run) and follow me on instagram/twitter for live updates from the Charles Street 12 on Saturday!

My last few weeks, in pictures:

The name tag makes it official "official" :-)

Enjoying a date night at our favorite MiLB stadium,
home of the Harrisburg Senators!

This workout is NO. JOKE. I bought this as a present to myself for reaching lifetime status- it's awesome.

5ks are always better with friends.

We have had some beautiful sunsets here in the last few weeks. 

I'd love to hear from you- what do you like to read about? What kinds of posts would you like to see here? What subjects/topics surrounding running or weight loss are you curious about? Please share in the comments below!

Race Recap & Review: Akron Marathon Weekend

As you know, I did not run the Akron Marathon Relay a few weeks ago. But, I have a special treat for you today- a recap from Matthew! He has relayed his experience during the half marathon to me so I can share it with all of you. I'll throw in some spectator stories too so you can get the full experience. So, let's dive right in!

Saturday, September 27th started with a group photo in the lobby. The race started at 7 am and we wanted to get everybody corralled and ready to go before then. Nathan and Matthew were running the half; Steff was starting the marathon relay and running legs one and two. After dropping them off at the start, Lauren, Mark (Lauren's husband), Jeff, Chelsea and I headed to the VIP area to watch the start. 

We look pretty good for 6 am!

Matthew:

After they dropped us off, I tried to get into my corral- C. It was a confusing set-up and I eventually found my way to the port-a-potties and then settled into corral B. I couldn't get into corral C. 

The race started and I noticed that the volunteers holding the rope at the front of each corral weren't walking the group forward so people just started running a few blocks before the start. It was peculiar. 

Sarah:

Watching the race from the VIP area was AMAZING! It was elevated so we could see the entire street. Lauren was hilarious- she looked the like the mayor waving to people. It was adorable. 

Panoramic start view.

The mayor of #runchat, Lauren, waving to her people.

Matthew:

The first few miles of the race were pretty cool- we ran an out-and-back course over two bridges and there were tons of spectators out lining the streets. There was fantastic signage for the different races. Every few miles, there would be signs directing you to the marathon, half marathon, or relay course. And then about a half mile later, a sign would confirm what course you were on. The relay exchange areas were well-marked and well-organized. About a quarter of a mile before each water/medical station, there was a sign letting runners know it was coming up. 

Miles 4-7 went through the city of Akron, neighborhoods, and business areas. I knew I was keeping a great pace. My goal for this race was sub 2:05 and up to this point, I knew I was doing exactly what I needed to. I ran straight for 6.5 miles; after that, I walked for one minute at every mile marker. As I approached the second relay exchange point around mile 9, I knew to look for Jeff. I was able to see him and say a quick hello. I also tried to stay on the blue line- the line painted on the course that was the shortest route of the race- it ran along the tangents. 

Sarah:

After the start, Chelsea and Lauren headed back to the hotel and Jeff headed to his relay exchange point. Mark and I, after consulting the course map, tried to scope out some places to watch our runners. We settled into a location at mile three. We were able to see Nathan but couldn't find the others. Eventually, we found a Starbucks and we grabbed breakfast. I had planned on seeing Matthew at mile 10 but I missed him... again! I forgot how frustrating and stressful it is to try and find your runner in a sea of people!

Mark and I made our way down to about mile 12.5 and decided to stay there to see Nathan and Matthew finish. Nathan zoomed past us finishing in 1:30 something and after he finished, he walked back to us to cheer for Matthew. Once we saw him, I knew he was going to SHATTER 2:05 :-) He passed us and we made our way back into the stadium to the finish- I had my bib on the scooter and Mark had a VIP pass so we had no issues getting into the runner's only area. 

Chelsea and me plotting out spectator routes, Mark looking confused.
 Thanks to Lauren for this picture. 

Matthew:

After mile 9ish, we ran past the start line again and I knew we just had that same out-and-back (minus a block or two) to get to the end of the race. At mile 11, I looked at my watch- 1:42. I felt like I'd break 2:05. From miles 11-12 we ran back over a bridge and towards the stadium. At about mile 12.5, the spectators started lining the streets. As I usually do, I took out one earbud so I could experience the finish. I heard Steff yell out to me and then later saw Sarah, Mark, and Nathan cheering me on. 

I ran toward the stadium and then entered under the scoreboard. There was a weird fabric down on the field- it felt like running on a blanket; it was awkward. I crossed the finish line and checked out my time- 2:01:43. Awesome! I grabbed my medal and then went up into the stands to find the team. 

Matthew (in blue) headed towards the finish. Thanks to Chelsea for this picture!

Sarah:

Steff and Matthew met up with us in the stadium. We all relaxed while the runners went down on the field to get their food and beer. They each got a bag of food and two beers. We took some pics, goofed around, and waited for Jeff and Lauren to get shuttled back to the stadium. When we knew Chelsea was close, we all went down on the field to watch her finish. 

That's right, my team carried my scooter and helped me get down STADIUM STEPS to get onto the field. They are amazing :-)

We were able to get right up to the finish line and see Chelsea finish- it was a cool moment. Then Chelsea gave us all our medals and my team gave me the sweetest card. There were some tears :-)

Afterward, we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up, traveled to Pittsburgh, and spent a good three hours in a Cracker Barrel off the PA Turnpike laughing at inappropriate jokes and offending lots of elderly folks. Fantastic day.

Rock. Star.

Waiting for our finishers! Notice Nathan in the heat blanket- he can't handle weather outside of Florida! :-)

Captain Chelsea bringing it home for Team #4PrincessesAndAFrog

Love these people.

Teammates for life.

Matthew:

Would I do this race again? Absolutely. It was very well-organized, it was a safe course, a well-supported community race, and I loved everything about the "blue line." If I can talk Sarah into it (yeah, right!), we'll be back in 2015. 

Sarah's Final Thoughts:

Seriously, the entire Akron Marathon team did such an impressive job with this event. Big thank you to Andrew and Panera for allowing us to be part of a great race weekend. Since I didn't get to run, I'm pretty sure it's a rule that I have to come back for 2015! Hope to see you there!