Erie Marathon Recap

     On Sunday I ran the Erie half marathon. It was my first time running this race and this is my recap of the race. I arrived at packet pick up which was located on Presque Isle, Erie.  It was held at the Rotary Pavilion.  I really liked this because everything was there. You picked up your packet and then could browse the few vendors that were there.  Also I liked that the expo was held outside and you had room to move around unlike a lot of the other expo's that are inside and very crowded.  Another nice thing I noticed was if you purchased tickets for the pasta dinner on Saturday it was right there inside the pavilion.  I did not partake in the pasta dinner since I carb. loaded Friday night.

     The packet included your normal swag. A long sleeve t-shirt, some coupons and flyers, a 13.1 sticker, a bumper sticker, a bandanna that was a map of the Isle, and your number and timing chip.  

      I started to get prepared for the race all day Saturday. Starting around 2:00 pm I would sip some coconut water every hour. I made sure not to over eat even though I didn't eat the best meal.  Once in my hotel room I took a hot shower and did some stretching as soon as I got out.  I wore my Zensah Compression socks to bed to help with any pains I had in my legs.   I honestly had one of the worst nights of sleep. I kept waking up every hour on the hour looking at the clock. At 4:30 am the alarm finally went off and I jumped out of bed like it was Christmas morning.  Before getting dressed I ate my Power Bar and had a glass of water. The morning was cold so I was wearing my fleece pants and hoodie over my outfit. We left the hotel around 5 and headed over to the start which was at the same place as packet pick up.  One thing that sucked was how dark it was out. Walking from the car to the starting area was a task in itself.  I ran into some other runners and we managed to find our way. Once in the starting area I waited for my friend Abby so we could warm up together. It was still early and I made the smart decision to use the port-o-potty early before the lines got long.  It was nice not waiting but it was still so dark you couldn't see what you were doing.  I kept thinking to myself this has some kind of accident written all over it.  Luckily I managed to do my business with no mishaps.  

     The full marathon started at 7:00 am so I walked over to watch the start.  After the runners took off I made the smart decision to use the restroom one more time.  This time the lines were a little longer and there were rolls of toilet paper sitting out in front of each unit. I heard someone say "make sure you take in toilet paper because most of them are out."  Thank god I did not need to use the toilet paper.  After relieving myself me and Abby walked to the starting line for the 7:30 half start.  They had people holding signs that said what mile splits so you knew where to stand.  I had no real goal for the race so I started between the 8 and 9 minute per mile sign.  

     

     Like I said earlier I had no time goal for the race, but I did want to run a smart race. My plan was to watch my water intake and just run a comfortable race and see how I felt.  I took some advice from Kristy who said take water every mile even if it is just a sip to stay hydrated.

  

Mile 1- 8:06  I felt good and felt like this was a nice pace to go at. 

Mile 2- 7:55 My shins were hurting, but it wasn't anything to worry about i figured.

Mile 3- 7:53 Still felt really good and my pain in my shins were starting to go away.

Mile 4- 7:45 This was the first time I took some GU. I normally don't take it this early in a race, but I knew that there was some at mile 8 so I figured break the race down into 3 parts. 

Mile 5- 7:46 When I started the race I wore my arm sleeves, at this point I started to get hot and wanted to loose them.  Luckily at mile 5.8 you passed the start and I was able to throw them to Amanda who was watching from the side

Mile 6- 7:35 Seeing people always makes me speed up and I picked up the speed since my adrenaline kicked in.

Mile 7- Somewhere around here is when I noticed my Garmin was not on with the mile markers set up for the race. It was dead on for the first 6 miles then it seemed to be off a bit.  8:21- I know I slowed down because I ran into another runner and broke open my hand held water bottle.  I stopped to make sure it wasn't in the way of any other runners.

Mile 8- 7:54 I was still feeling good, I knew if I wanted to pick up the pace I could, but I honestly wasn't worried about the time. I was still doing everything the way I planned.

Mile 9- 8:01 This mile has the only uphill on the course.  It is a small hill compared to most hills I am used to, so it didn't really phase me.

Mile 10- 8:31 I decided to slow down a bit from here on out. I knew as long as ran under 9 minute miles my time would be respectful. I want to go to Columbus with confidence and this race was giving me just what I needed.

Mile 11- 8:45 

Mile 12- 8:34

Mile 13 and 13.1- 9:34  If you add the times it does not add up with what my official time was.  I finished with a time of 1:46:34        169th overall and 14th in my age group.     

I am very happy with how I did in this race. I set out to execute a smart race plan and I succeeded.  I felt really good and know I could of went faster. This was a great race to build my confidence.

THE MEDAL:

 After getting my medal I got to watch my friend Abby finish. She ran one of her best times and I am very proud of her. 

Overall this was one of my favorite races. The course is super flat and shaded.  Even though we got perfect weather on race day I feel like if it was sunny the trees would of gave us great cover. The expo was small but good and it was really organized.  The race was organized and except for some small things like the toilet paper had no big problems.   If you want a race that isn't too crowded and are shooting for a good time this one is for you.