The 2018 Cleveland Half Marathon may be over but I’ve got plenty of lessons to learn from it. Here’s my review of the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon and race recap!
Have you ever participated in a race where you set zero expectations and zero goals for yourself, only to be disappointed by the outcome or performance of said race? Me too.
Sunday, May 20, 2018 was the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon, and 10K. As a race ambassador, there was never really any question as to if I’d be running. The only question was which distance. And to be frank, that wasn’t much up for debate either. I’m not a spring marathoner and a 4:30 am wakeup call for a 10K seemed excessive. But when I was plagued with hamstring tendinitis in December and then a slew of illnesses in February and March, I began to question whether the half marathon distance was realistic.
Come April and May, I was beginning to feel more optimistic. Despite my longest long run being a measly 9 miles, I felt fairly confident. After all, I spent a lot more time on the extras this time around — spinning, barre, and the gym to be specific.
But before I get into the details of my race, let me review this year’s Cleveland Marathon. I base my race reviews on the following categories: parking, swag, crowd support, course, post-race fun, and yes, the weather. It’s Cleveland, after all…
Cleveland Marathon Race Review
Parking
I took the rapid down to the race this year. It was incredibly easy and I made it to the starting line with no problem.
Swag
I wasn’t a huge fan of the swag this year. The medal was clutch and for that I’m very happy. And the shirt design is sharp and clean. Unfortunately it’s a little too snug around my hips. Hopefully they’ll get back to Brooks or Nike shirts next year!
Crowd Support
The crowd support is usually pretty great for the Cleveland Marathon. There were pockets of support this year but sadly it was raining and overcast which I’m sure kept a lot of people indoors.
Course
I loved the course last year and it seemed almost the same this year with maybe a few changes here and there. I enjoyed running through all the Cleveland neighborhoods and getting out of my home radius!
Post-Race Atmosphere
By the time I finished, the weather cleared up and the post-race atmosphere seemed like a lot of fun. Unfortunately my tummy wasn’t so happy and I was cold so I had to head indoors sooner rather than later!
Weather
I’ve obviously alluded to this, but the weather Clevelanded all over us once again this year. Early in the week it said 70s and thunderstorms. Then the day before the race it said 60s and mostly cloudy. Of course, we woke up race morning and it was raining. #facepalm At least it wasn’t cold but it sure wasn’t warm! I’m fairly certain most participants were happy with this weather but I could not have been more unhappy. I’m a hot weather, sunshine kind of runner. Cool rain is not my jam.
Cool visual effects brought to you by an iPhone inside a rain-streaked plastic bag.
2018 Cleveland Half Marathon Race Recap
All right — so that’s the necessary-to-share but less-exciting stuff. Here’s the good stuff: my race recap!
Miles 1-5
My friend Carole and I planned to run the half marathon together. Neither one of us wanted to overdo it and we both wanted to just chill and have fun. The first few miles weren’t so bad. It was raining, though, and I was kinda cold. Puddles, puddles everywhere. I tossed my throw away hoodie around mile 3. Sadly, I had to stop at one of the first porta-potty stops (thanks, too much coffee) which ate up a bit of time while we waited in line.
Miles 6-10
I’m pretty sure I started complaining around mile 6. My feet were soaked, I was cranky, my bowels were mad at me, and I was just not feeling this run. I started looking for my very pregnant friend, Julie, and it was really psyching me out. She said she would be somewhere around mile 6.5-7 but when she wasn’t there I started freaking out that she was in labor somewhere in Cleveland.
I checked my phone (which was in a ziplock and not so easy to use) and saw that Julie said closer to mile 7.5. Got to mile 7.5 and still no sign of her. Finally, almost to mile 8, there she was! Phew. I was partly relieved to see her and a little disappointed there was no marathon baby. Haha!
Carole and I pressed on. I pretended to be in really good spirits but it was hard. One of those “fake it til ya make it” moments. But it really wasn’t working so well.
Miles 11-13
For most of the race I refused to walk unless it was through an aid station, but I think I might have had to walk once or twice in this stretch. I was just glad to be almost done!
Mile 13.1
Carole and I had discussed running across the finish line hand in hand, Thelma and Louise style. We totally did. It was totally awesome. And I really hope someone got a picture of us! Thank god we were done!!!
Struggle. Bus.
I did not have the race of my life this year. Nor was I planning on it. And I really have no reason to be disappointed because I had a lot of things working against me and was just planning on fun-running anyway. But it’s hard to swallow my pride when my finish time was my slowest race time ever. By more than 20 minutes. But things happen and we learn from them and do better.
Finish time: 2:35:20
There were so many things that went wrong leading up to this race. I was on the struggle bus from the beginning.
What went wrong?
I was grossly undertrained. As I mentioned, earlier in the year I was dealing with hamstring tendinitis and the rehabilitation from that, then was hit with illness after illness for two months straight. I was finally feeling a bit confident and really good about the race and then BAM! I got hit with a cold on Thursday.
So not only was I undertrained, now I was sick. Thankfully my cold moved quickly and I was feeling good come race day, but the days leading up to race day I really wasn’t feeling so awesome. My hydration and nutrition suffered which translated into my bowels being a mess on race day. I paid the price for that one for the rest of the day and the following day, too. There was also the huge mistake of drinking too much coffee before the race. All that caffeine certainly didn’t help my GI issue.
I went into the 2018 Cleveland Half Marathon with little planning, lackluster training, and almost completely winging it. I learned my lesson and will never, ever do that again.
What went right!
But every bad experience has a silver lining and this is no different. There were a few things that went right:
The 2018 Cleveland Half Marathon was to be a litmus test of my current fitness and the strength and healing of my hamstring. I literally had no plan except to see how everything felt and I stuck to the plan like a pro. There were moments when I wanted to run faster and race but I kept a low profile and made sure I took it nice and easy. If there’s one thing I’m extremely good at it’s knowing how to control myself during a race. I can fire on all cylinders or hold back when needed. And my hamstring felt pretty good for much of the race! I’ll have to take it nice and slow for marathon training but I’m feeling good with where I’m at right now.
I also got to run with my friend Carole for the entire race. We had so much fun and I’m so grateful for her company for 13.1 miles. We’ve logged many long runs together but there’s something so nice about running in a race with a friend. We stopped and took pictures, kibitzed with friends, and really just had a jolly good time. That part was great!
After the race
After the race we met up with my family and wandered over to the Renaissance hotel where the VIP brunch was being held. Ready for some crazy fun facts?
- The Renaissance is the hotel where my husband and I were married 10 years ago.
- The VIP brunch was in the room we were married in!
- After brunch, as we exited the hotel back to the marathon finish line, we heard our wedding photographer’s name being announced as he crossed the finish line. WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!
It was such a crazy series of coincidences — I couldn’t believe it! I love when life does funny things like that.
Anyways — post-race at the VIP brunch was great. We got to see old friends and new, and then before I knew it it was time to head home.
Before the race
But I didn’t mention the VIP reception yet! Rewind…!
Friday evening was the VIP reception. The evening consisted of eating good food, drinking yummy drinks, and of course, all the photos…
Kim (KookyRunner), Sara (RunUltraInspired), and me!
And I finally got to meet Kim from the Kooky Runner in real life! I was so ecstatic to see her and give her the biggest hug ever. We’ve been following each other and “friends” for years but never got to meet in person until now. I love meeting fellow bloggers in the flesh and I hope I get to do more of that this year!
2018 CLE Ambassadors!
Conclusion
The 2018 Cleveland Half Marathon wasn’t my typical race. I had fun and complained, I tested the strength of my hamstring and overall fitness, and ended up with my worst race time ever. But it’s cool. It was a test and I passed. I learned some hard lessons (i.e. actually train for a race, don’t get sick, focus on hydration and nutrition, don’t drink so much coffee before) and hopefully I won’t make those same mistakes going forward.
THANK YOU to the Cleveland Marathon for giving me this amazing opportunity to rep this iconic race. It’s been an amazing year and though I’m sad it’s over, I’m looking forward to next year already!
xo
Let’s talk!
Have you ever purposefully run a slow race only to be extremely disappointed in your race time?
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52 Comments
Great job!!! I love that you’re taking a positive approach despite your finish time not being your best. I have had races like this and it really does serve to teach us how we can really improve and that training (and life circumstances) matter!
Thank you! It was a doozy. I definitely re-learned a lot of hard lessons. Lessons I learned during my first year of racing… Training and life circumstances absolutely do matter and I won’t forget that any time soon!
Congrats on your half. I can’t believe you did that well after your longest run was only 9 miles! It looks like you had a fun weekend all around. I like to read about how you reflected on what you could improve.
Thank you! My training was subpar at best. But you win some, you lose some. And now I know what to do differently next time!
I dunno, there’s something to be said for running a race with little planning, lackluster training, and almost completely winging it. After all, I do it all the time! Of course my only goal ever is to finish! Glad you can find a the silver lining in it!
I’m glad it works for you! It certainly doesn’t work for me. And I learned that the hard way.
But you still persevered and crossed that ((dumb)) finish line 😉 I have had some races like this…I foolishly think all the moons, planets and stars will magically align and compensate for my lack-luster preparation (those celestial beings HAVE done that in the past, but not very often BTW). Even though those races have been wrought with frustration, they also have been teachable. Ultimately, the race will happen whether we’re prepared or not, and if we can cross the finish line and walk away with a new lesson learned, then it hasn’t been all bad, right? 😉
So true. I admittedly felt a little foolish because all the lessons I learned are the same lessons I learned years ago. But I guess sometimes we just need a gentle reminder. 😉
Sunday was HARD, but at least we both finished! The highlight of the weekend was getting to meet you, finally!
Also this race really knows how to treat their ambassadors!
My race shirt is also too small :(, but the shirt for the 5k/8k is too big on me, LOL.
Same size?! That’s so odd!
They do it right for ambassadors in CLE. ♥️ My favorite part of the weekend was meeting YOU! We’ll have to do it again sometime.
Ah, Rachel, what a bummer that race day turned out the way it did (obviously not the part where you got to run with your friend Carole the whole way, but the weather, GI issues, etc). I despise rain on race day if it’s more than a tiny sprinkle so I can only imagine that you were annoyed by that at the very start. You had a lot working against you, yet, as you said, you still were able to find some positives in the whole experience. Sometimes a race is for lessons only and not necessarily for personal best achievements. Because I am constantly a wreck, for most of my races I have very little expectations. I understand still being disappointed about the end result though – my last marathon was horrendous due to injury and back issues and it cost me an hour extra than “normal”. I already run a marathon over 5 hours Being undertrained and still having foot issues I changed my mind about the Liverpool marathon and switched to the Half. I’m glad I did but still slightly disappointed in my time.
I love the coincidences at the Renaissance Hotel! What are the odds, indeed!!!
And YAY for finally meeting Kim! I met her too last year in Chicago – it was a short but sweet meeting but I was super excited to have had the chance to meet in person.
Will you be doing Cleveland again next year?
I’m not a fan of rain at all! But honestly I think if my tummy wasn’t bothering me so much I would have had a lot more fun. I definitely learned my lesson about nutrition and too much coffee, though! 😉
I’ll definitely be doing Cleveland again next year. Wanna come?? 🙂
Bummer about those GI issues! But, thanks for passing along the lessons you learned so we can all learn from them, too. 🙂 And it looks like all of you ambassadors were having a lot of fun!
I’m not sure if there was anything I could really do about the GI issues but I had my nutrition and hydration down to a science last year so I’m fairly certain it could have been avoided!
We had a ton of fun! Love my fellow ambassadors. <3
Sorry that this race was a disappointment for you in some areas, but it sounds like you and your friend Carole made the best of it! Now-on to the next one!!
It was 70% fun, 30% not fun. The 70% made up for the 30% though. 🙂
I’ve definitely had this happen. Mostly the disappointment for me comes when I finish and know I did not push it and give it my all. But, there was one race that I was just glad I finished at the end! I think in your case, coming off an injury, getting sick right before, the bad weather…all of that makes it totally ok that you just used it as a fun run. Especially getting to run it with your friend, that’s so fun! So don’t get too down. Everyone has a race or two that they wish they’d run differently. Next year you’ll rock it!
Yeah, I agree. I don’t think I had it in me to push any harder so it’s all good. But those races where I know I could have done better are tough!
Add me to camp been there done that. My race like this was last fall in Vegas Like you, I was coming off of injury, undertrained and planning to just have fun. Serious pre-race fueling mistakes (not eating all day for a night race doesn’t work, ha!)plus getting uber sick on a gel that just wouldn’t sit left me with a mega PW. It feels like a total slap in the face but we move on. Sorry the weather sucked!
This. You just summed up my race. It does feel like a slap in the face. But you’re right — time to move on!!
congrats on finishing and continue to feel better!
Thank you!
Sounds like you tried to find the silver lining to this race. Way to finish and play through!
Thank you!
Great job! Every race has lessons to be learned 🙂 Forward progress.
Exactly!
Definitely sounds like many lessons we’re learned but fun to be in a nice city with good company! On to the next!
Absolutely! If it weren’t for the company I would have been in a bad place!
VIP treatment as an ambassador – sign me up! 🙂 I wanted to apply to be an RNR ambassador but the application window was closed when I thought about it. This looked like a fun event to be a part of. Sorry to hear about the weather on race day – I think I’d have a miserable time running in soaked socks and shoes. But at least you ran the course with a friend. I always think how better a race is (no matter what time I finish) when I have friends running along with me.
Totally agree about the friend thing. So tough to run solo when you’re already crabby.
Soggy feet and shoes don’t normally bother me. I think I was mostly peeved bc it was supposed to be nice out! ?
Congratulations on your run!!!! I think you did amazing with the obstacles you had to overcome, the best is when you get to do those types of events with friends 🙂
Thank you! Agreed — running with friends is the best way to travel. 🙂
Oh man, that sounds intense! At least you were with friends and you still had fun. I never really ran a race coming back from injury like that but I did have a race that happened right after an awful life event that just sucked. At least you were able to finish and bounce back strong!
I think any big event — physical injury or life-changing event — would derail my race. But we do what we have to do, right?
Congrats on finishing what had to be a tough race for you! I totally feel you on not wanting to run in the cold rain, but hey, at least you did it! Plus you got to meet Kim–that would be worth it! I hope you are still thinking about Zooma Great Lakes! We need a meet up.
Yes still thinking about zooma. It would be so fun! Just not sure if I can make it happen.
Kim is the best. She told me y’all are running RnR! We looked at prices while she was here bc I was going to sign up for the half but it’s a little steep. Whomp whomp!
Congratulations! I think doing any race in the rain makes it twice as hard. Glad you focused on the fun.
Thank you!
Wow, there certainly were a lot of pluses. I love all the wedding-related coincidences. Racing in chilly rain for 13.1 is tough. It was drizzly during part of the Denver Half and I think that sapped my mojo too.
So many random coincidences! It was crazy!
What a race…so many ups and downs, but you finished it! Love your perseverance! Congrats!
Thank you!
Oh, I’m so sorry this wasn’t the race you hoped for. I think it’s always disappointing to not perform up to your expectations, even if you didn’t have too many set.
I’m glad you were able to find some silver linings to the experience. I think it’s always important to take positive things away from even the most negative things.
Congratulations on another half! You did great!
Thanks, Jenn! It was “disappointing” but I really can’t be too disappointed. 🙂
I’ve totally had those races where even though I expected to run slow, I wasn’t happy with the outcome. Regardless, I think you did fab! I did the Cleveland marathon back in 2011 and loved the race.
Thank you! It’s a tough pill to swallow but it totally shouldn’t be. 😉
Come back and run again!
Kudos to you for making the most of your race experience. We can’t expect to perform our best at every single race, so choosing to have fun instead of pushing yourself when you knew that you shouldn’t was a good choice.
Thank you! I had as much fun as I could. 🙂
I’ve been disappointed before but I am glad that you were able to still find some good things!
Thanks! It really wasn’t so bad. I have no reason to be bummed about it at all!
Despite the challenges, I’m glad you can find some positives. Congrats on getting through a challenging race!
And how wild about those wedding coincidences?! So glad you and Kim got to meet up 🙂
Aren’t those the crazy coincidences ever?! How do things like that even happen??
I’m so glad I got to meet Kim. She’s every bit as amazing in person as I thought she would be!