cle '13.

for the 3rd year in a row, i ran the cleveland half marathon.  this year, i was joined in the event with my brother, who has taken to running this last year, and he ran his first ever 10k!  he needed to participate in a big race and get a time for his entry at disney's wine n dine half marathon later this fall!  

we were up super early, and downtown at 6 a.m. to get situated at the race.

we stopped at the rock n roll hall of fame for a pre race photo, then headed over to browns stadium to hang out til the start!

what i love about the cleveland marathon, is that before (and after) the race, the stadium (where the start is) allows us to use ALL the bathrooms.  it is so nice to use a real one versus a port-a-potty!

this was my first non disney race in which i wore one of my team sparkle skirts!  it was fun to hear some shout outs during my run like "go, sparkly" or "great skirt".  it helped me when the going got rough!

i kept boston in my thoughts as well during the race.  there was a lot more vivid security and bomb squad/k9 units present this year, due to the events of the boston marathon.  i wore boston colors in support.

 my race started at 7 a.m., and mike's 10k started at 7:30.  we hung out til my start, along with our ever present cheerleaders my mom and aunt, and then just before 7 i headed into the mass of people!

i have no photos of me during the race and i didn't carry a camera.  it was a warm day (think princess half a few months ago), but it was cloudy with a small breeze til about mile 7, when the sun broke through.  it got hot!  red flags were out advising us to be careful, and that this was not the time to try to pr!

i was very under trained for this event, having had april nearly off of running due to some sore feet issues.  originally, i had planned to try to pr, but i knew going into this race, between the heat, and the lack of training, that was highly unlikely.  i tried to just have a good run!  i did well, til that sun came out and i tired out.  miles 8 to the finish were hard, and i ended up walking short bits of time from mile 10 1/2 to the finish.  i was not happy about that, but it was all i could do.  i am happy to say that they took out the horrible hill at mile 10 from last year!

i finished the race in 2:16:29, which i was happy with by the end!  it was actually my worst "non disney" race time, but i was ok with it.  i persevered, on tired, untrained legs, and finished upright!

my other favorite thing about this race is the post race treats.  it's the only race i have ever completed that gives you chocolate milk at the end!  it was so yummy and cold and refreshing, as well as that popsicle!  after i fueled from those, i went in search of coke.  i was craving a coke with ice like crazy during those final miles!  

my brother had a great first "major" race, meaning large crowds of people, and his first race where he didn't place!  but super fast guy that he is, he came in 9th in his age group.  he is fast!  i am in awe!  good job, mike!

post race photos!

 all in all, it was a good weekend!

thanks to our mom and aunt for cheering for us during both races!  and thanks mike, for cheering during mine as well!

addy's 2013 race at cleveland marathon.

my niece loves to run, just like me.  (like aunt, like niece, i guess.  and like uncle now too, actually!)  our newest tradition is to run the kids race together, during cleveland marathon weekend.  i like it, it's "our thing" that we do.  this was our second year doing this together, and it is so fun!  this year we added team sparkle skirts to help us go extra fast.  it also helped our cheerleaders see us from afar in the stands!

addy's age group races from one end of browns field to the other.  her pace is fast, she is a sprinter!  i wish i had my garmin to clock how long it took us.  my guess is 1 minute!

 we came.

 we ran.

we sparkled.

 congrats to my little speedster!  can't wait til our next run together!

10 miler relay.

last saturday my brother and i ran our first relay, as a part of the cleveland 10 miler.  it was something new for both of us, his third race and first relay, and my first relay!

it was a great day for running, a little chilly at the start, but once the sun came up, it was hot!  mike started the race at the start line, while i jumped on the shuttle to the exchange point.  it was fun for me to be a spectator for a bit, i got to see the fast leaders come by and cheer everyone on.  i never get to see the fasties go by! 

we both decided that we weren't out to do anything but have a good race for ourselves.  i had taken some time off due to a sore foot, and had just gotten in some short runs that week, and mike was just trying to get himself a good time. mike is a speedster, and was the first or second person to hit the exchange point.  we high fived and i took off!  as i joined the other runners, i realized that i was with the higher paced runners, and i took off, looked at my watch and saw i was wayyyy too fast.  the watch had me in the 7 minute range!  i tried to slow down but it was hard, being with all these faster runners, i didn't want to get run over!  i was passed a lot, but i didn't let it bother me, and i kept at a pace i could handle, albeit it was a little fast, but i decided to try and see what i could do at that level. as i ran, i thought of boston and those who couldn't finish the run, or won't be able to run again, and that pushed me to keep my pace up. once i hit the final mile, i knew that i was going to have a pr (personal record), after glancing at my watch.  woohoo!  i hauled a** that whole race and couldn't be prouder of my time, a new 5 mile race pr.  it was such a fun race, and a perfect day for it.

hauling. a**.   i gave it all i had!

after my brother found his way back to us, we both recieved our medals, and remembered we could scan our bibs bar code thing to see what our results were.  we were shocked to find out we placed 2nd in the coed relay teams, out of 13!  my brother has run 3 races in his short running career, and has placed at all 3.  insane.  this was his largest race to date. i tell him winning these prizes in not normal, and will not happen at his next big race cleveland marathon weekend. unless he has kenyan blood we don't know about. 

 we collected our 2nd place medals and couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces!  

our hardware!
(the clear medal says 2nd place coed relay team)

what a great day!  i am so proud of mike for his fast, great run, and proud of myself after my foot issues to push myself harder than i had anticipated!  and special thanks to our mom and aunt for cheering us on!

our final stats:

overall time  1:21:31

division:  2nd out of 13 coed teams

overall placement:  5th out of 36 teams

mike/leg 1:  37:12, average pace 7:26 (1st out of 13 division runners)

me/leg 2:    44:18,  average pace 8:51 (8th out of 13 division runners)

our dramatic reenactment of the exchange point

great run, mike!  so glad to have a running buddy now!!!