Run the Bird! Part two...

The next morning we got up and walked down to the race start line right before the race. I needed to use the restroom from the very beginning, but being so close to the start of the race I would have to wait. The race started at exactly 7 a.m., which, is something they purport being known for. The very start of the race was down hill slightly and them some flat terrain on a highway. The worst was yet to come. The website claimed two particularly challenging hills on the course. Throughout, I noticed many rolling hills I would consider significant. One hill of particular notation was "Heart Beat Hill." As soon as I got to the start of this hill, at about mile 17, I decided it best to walk the worst of it. From there the rolling hills continually pounded on my legs and toward the end with about 4 or 5 miles left my right quad started to cramp and every so often I had to walk until it went back to normal. Unlike my training runs I also notice my upper back getting tight and I am guessing this is from leaning on the hills. One of the nicest things I have seen at a race was the GU they had here. Not just GU, but the presentation of cutting the tops off before handing to the runners was a great idea and whoever thought of this deserves many thanks.

One of my best memories in the race was at a water stop. Usually as runners pass through a water stop they yell out whether they want water or sports drink. In one particular instance I yelled out "Cold Beer," to which one of the laughing volunteers responded "Jello Shots."

By the end of the race, I felt like I was dead and glad to be finished. In the end I had a new marathon PR by over an hour and finished in 4:19:34. Of course, I have to be fair and explain that my last PR and first marathon was Chicago in 2007 when they canceled it because of the heat.

After the race, we walked back to the hotel to take showers. After the showers we drove over toward Second Sole to pick up our free shoes. En route, we stopped at a national burrito chain for lunch. As stated, we picked up our shoes. I was impressed that they had size 13 shoes quite ready and the store also marked all merchandise down quite a bit. After getting our shoes we went back to the hotel and crashed until dinner. For dinner we went to the Ohio Brewing Company and tried some of their brews. The beer wasn't overly exciting, but I will admit I can be a beer snob sometimes. After this we went back to the hotel for the night and the next day drove back.

Overall, it was a blast. I would recommend this race to anyone and Runner's World got it correct including it in the top 10 marathons.

Run the Bird! Part one...

I guess it is about time for me to discuss my latest marathon in Akron, OH. In preparation I ran as many hills as I could find in this "flat as a pancake" town. This proved somewhat for naught, but a good time was had.

We drove out on Friday, September 26th and within 8 hours or so we made the trip. It was quite uneventful except for the constant sightings of corn and soybeans. Upon arrival we checked into our rooms and made the block trek to packet pick-up. They had a blue tape line to follow around the expo to eventually get to t-shirt pickup. The only real "hitch" in the entire weekend happened here. The friends I was with happened to talk to the right person and get there packets right away. I on the other hand talked to someone else and they told me to go back out to find my bib number. I had to fight back through the people to get my number. When I got back I realized another person utilized a name/bib listing for locating bib numbers. Then, we walked through the expo and eventually came upon the shirts where they were more than willing to let participants try on the shirts for size.

Once we retrieved our shirts and packets, we went out to eat at Luigi's, a local Italian eatery. The food wasn't overly exciting, but it definitely sufficed for our carbohydrate loading needs. Upon finishing dinner, we went back to our rooms and crashed for the night after getting things together for the following morning.