Hot Town Summer In the City - Cleveland Marathon 2012

One of the most frustrating things about endurance running is that no matter how hard you train, no matter how well rested you are, no matter how healthy and great you feel on race day, there are still going to be issues that are out of your control.

With that in mind, as I tapered for the Cleveland Marathon I felt like I was ready to run a strong race. My long runs were strong, my speed work was good, I had no nagging injuries that I had to worry about. I didn't feel like I was in PR shape but I thought that I could go out and run a pretty strong race and maybe even BQ if the weather was favorable.

As we counted down the days and obsessed over the weather forecast, it became apparent that the weather was not going to be favorable. I tempered my race goals accordingly.

Race morning was warm, mid 60s but fortunately, not too humid. I decided to line up just behind the 3:30 pace group and just go with the flow. I wasn't there to PR. I wasn't there to BQ. It was a rare opportunity to just go out and run at a comfortable pace and have fun.

The race was delayed by five minutes which seemed like forever when you're standing there waiting to race and have to listen to annoying announcers going on and on about things that had nothing to do with the race. Finally the race starts and I think the announcers even botched the start but the runners took off anyway.

Mile 1 was a log jam of runners. A lot of slowing down, bobbing and weaving between runners and even a complete stop or two. Not fun. I finally started to find some running room during mile 2. I settled into a comfortable pace and kept reminding myself not to go out too fast. The first 5 miles breezed right by although I did notice some runners had already started walking during mile 4.

Splits for miles 1-5: 8:20, 7:39, 7:54, 8:02, 8:01.

Mile 6 was the first time that I really started to notice the sun. We were running down Detroit Avenue and there was little to no shade and the sun was directly in front of us. We wound through a couple of cool little neighborhoods and I was feeling strong and having fun. I saw my friend Lisa in the crowd around mile 8 but didn't have a chance to tell her that I was feeling good. Somewhere around mile 9 we hit the only real hill on the course. It was unexpected and I had to work a little harder than expected but cruised right up on pace. About a half mile later I saw the first ambulance of the day, already carting a runner off of the course. It's always scary when you see a runner down on the course and I did a quick evaluation to make sure I was being honest with myself. I determined I was still feeling good and was OK to continue at my current pace.

Splits for miles 6-10: 8:07, 8:04, 7:54, 7:57, 8:03.

Mile 11 was a long, gradual ascent across a bridge leading back to downtown. I really started to notice the sun here as we were completely exposed. I entered downtown, passing Progressive Field and heading toward the Hard Rock Cafe. Crowd support picked up through this area but it didn't help to hear people yelling things like, "you're almost done, only a couple miles to go." While this was perfectly true for the half marathoners, my race had hardly even begun. Suddenly we passed the mile 12 marker and the half marathoners split off of the course. I was expecting the course to become deserted at this point as the majority of runners were running the half, but it turned out that I still had plenty of runners to keep me company on the course.

I hit the halfway split at 1:46:38. We were now running along a four mile stretch where the sun would be directly overhead and no shade. I decided to slow down a bit and save some energy. I adjusted my pace to the 8:30 range yet before I knew it I was running closer to 8:50 and desperately wondering where the next water station was going to be. By the time I hit a water station sometime after mile 16, I had to stop and walk and make sure I drank plenty of liquids. The heat was definitely affecting me.

Splits for miles 11-16: 8:17, 8:07, 7:57, 8:13, 8:34, 8:52.

Miles 17 through 20 is a down hill stretch that winds through a shady park. On a normal day, it's an area where you can increase your pace and make your move if you're still feeling strong. But this was not a normal day. By this point, I had seen at least 5 ambulances and countless runners being attended to on the side of the road. It was bad. I found that despite my best effort along this stretch, I just couldn't muster any speed. In fact, I really, really wanted to walk. I forced myself to keep running by telling myself that it was down hill. Just keep running. But it was getting tougher and tougher. Right around the mile 20 marker was a water station. Again, I stopped and drank as much as I could and then forced myself to continue.

Splits for miles 17-20: 9:59, 9:40, 10:03, 10:54.

So I've run 20 miles, I'm realizing that I'm in big trouble. The temperature keeps rising. We're back in the sun. I have over 6 miles to go and my pace has dropped beyond belief. Sweat is pouring down my face, burning my eyes and my calves are threatening to cramp.

Somewhere after mile 21 I hear some people yelling, "Go, CRC" (Columbus Running Company), and "Go, Columbus!" I look over and see a crew from Run DMC (Daily Mile Columbus), cheering me on. That really went a long way toward making me feel better, if only temporarily.

About a hundred yards later I spotted Lisa. She told me that it was now 85 degrees. She asked me how I was doing. I told her I was in pretty bad shape and she gave me a recovery drink and a Clif shot and told me she was going to run the rest of the way with me. I honestly don't know what I would have done without her. She told me I looked green and started asking me if I knew what day it was. Yeah, I was that bad.

The last 5 miles are a bit of a blur. I remember having to stop and walk a few times. I remember both of my calves cramping up at the same time and my legs literally locking up. I grabbed a traffic construction cone and held on for dear life as I waited...and waited...and waited for the cramping to subside. I remember a lady at a water station dumping half a pitcher of water over my head and down my back to try to cool me off. I remember bitching about having to hear Bon Jovi not once, but twice on the course. I remember laughing and telling a lady to stop lying for telling us that we were looking good. I remember Lisa thinking I was hallucinating and didn't recognize a train. I remember an ultra-marathoner trying to explain to us that ultra's are actually easier than marathons. I remember laughing at a sign, although I can't remember what it said, but it was clever. I remember cramping up a few more times. I remember Lisa talking on the phone and telling someone that I was in trouble and we would be out here for a while. I remember Lisa trying to convince me that I should just walk the rest of the way.

Other than that, it was just a slow, painful trudge through the hot streets of Cleveland. When I finally made it to the final turn, all I could do was plod along. If I tried to run any faster my legs were going to cramp again so I just slowly but surely made it to the finish line.

Splits for miles 21-26: 10:11, 12:28, 12:53, 14:54, 12:23, 13:21.

I crossed the line at a personal worst 4:11:41, but time didn't matter. It was all about survival. Someone handed me a medal and I started slowly walking through the corral. I noticed a guy watching me and he finally approached. He said he was Dr. So-and-so. Told me I wasn't looking very good and I should come with him. I didn't say anything. I just walked beside him until we reached these big fans. I stood in front of the fans as they started pouring cold water over me. Then they had me stand in front of the fan for a few minutes and checked on me periodically while they treated other runners. I remember knowing that I didn't feel right but not being able to pinpoint exactly what was wrong with me. I contemplated walking to the medical tent but thought that the other runners who were being treated all around me needed their attention more than I did. I was probably wrong.

I found Bill waiting for me as I left the recovery area and we found some shade as we waited for Lisa. They led me slowly and painfully to the car. I'm not sure what I would have done without them.