My First Half Marathon! It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times (seems like I've heard this somewhere before). In the
two days prior to the race, I had been feeling some pain in both heels.
I feared that I might have an injured Achilles or maybe a plantar
fasciitis problem. I had skipped my planned Friday run as a
precaution, but when I woke up at 4:30am on race day the pain was still
there. I got dressed and headed out of the hotel for a quick pre-dawn
run through the empty streets of downtown Cleveland. Nary a soul in
sight with the exception of a couple workers hosing down the sidewalks
around Progressive Field in preparation for the Indians-Marlins baseball
game later that day. I worked up a decent sweat but the heel
discomfort remained. I did not train 5 months to let this day end in a
scratch, so I decided I could handle this. I later discovered the
reason for the pain. During my last run on Thursday, I ran with a
pair of running shoes that I've been breaking in. The Reebok's had
deep wide grooves in the heel that I can only surmise were for
cushioning and inside these grooves I discovered that I had picked up a
grape sized stone in the heel of each shoe. Apparently I had bruised
both heels during that last workout.
After the morning shakeout run, I headed back to the hotel room for
my usual breakfast of Oatmeal with Craisins, ground flax and Silk then
headed down to the race with son in law Brad who was also running his
first half marathon. We were among the first runners to arrive at Cleveland Browns Stadium
and headed to the 9:00 pace group starting area where I was to meet my
OSF Everyday Athletes teammates for a pre race photo shoot. Only two
of us made it there because the rest of the team had difficulty finding
parking close enough to the race.
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| Brad and I before heading to starting line. |
By 6:30 the crowd was starting to swell and I had already run into
several groups of friends and exchanged good lucks and well wishes and
managed a few photos.
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| Bill Tobia and Chrissie Barrickman-Vendetti |
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| Sebastian Ornelas, Shawn Van Buren, Erik Van't Veer |
6:45 - Time for some pre race fuel in the form of Gatorade Primer.
People are flooding in now, not leaving much room for any kind of jogging
and you can feel the excitement building. The DJ is getting everyone
pumped up.
6:55 The National Anthem plays, I can't believe the time has arrived.
Since the first of the year I've logged 480 miles in 96 workouts in
all kinds of weather.
7:00 The gun goes off and the crowd roars and NOTHING. It seems
like 5 minutes before our pace group begins to move and then its only
for about 25 yards. After a little longer delay we begin to move, at
first just a slow march, then a little quicker jog.
7:07 We finally reach the starting line and I start the watch. The race has begun.
Mile 1: I'm putting lessons learned from previous spring races not
to go out too fast. That was pretty much an impossibility anyway with
the crowd of runners. We made our way around the stadium and head up
an incline of about 150 yards making our way to Lakeside Avenue, then
turning west towards the entrance ramp of the west shoreway. Once on
the shoreway, I could not believe what I saw. A mass of humanity
shoulder to shoulder on the freeway for as far as you could see. Now I
understood why it took us 7 minutes to make the 200 yard trek from our
corral to the starting line. The pain in the heel was tolerable and
was non existent as long as I was landing on my toes and not my heels.
I pass the Mile 1 flag at 10:35, right about where I wanted to be. I
got in with a 10:07 pace group hoping to run 2:12:30 and I was only a
few seconds off the pace.
Mile 2: The second mile was mostly downhill as we are on the back
side of the shoreway bridge heading into the near west side
neighborhoods toward Edgewater Park. By the time I reached the two
mile mark, I was running free of pain and so relieved that the heel was
ok. I also was able to make up the deficit on the pace group with the
help of the mostly negative elevation gain. Second mile ticked off at
9:31.
Mile 3: Still running without pain and maintaining sight of the
4:25:00 pace group that I was in. The temps were starting to rise and
I take in some water at the first aid station without having to lose
much time. I'm feeling good and am pleased to see my neighbor
Christina wave as she passes by. Christina is a faster runner than I
and the fact that I was with her 3 miles in gave me some confidence.
Pass the mile 3 flag at 30:46 (10:15 pace), a little bit slower than the
10:07 pace group but I'm happy considering the heat.
Mile 4: I pass a young couple wearing t-shirts with writing on the
back. Hers said "Getting Married" and his said "Next Week". We were
now running through the shaded streets of Lakewood, but the heat is
starting to wear on me. I took in more fluid at the 4 mile aid
station and the fourth mile slows down to 10:40. I've resigned myself
to the fact that I would not be running anywhere close to a 2:12:30
today and decided to pursue the goal of finishing with a smile on my
face and not worry about the time.
Mile 5: I'm able to pick up the pace slightly (10:29) perhaps from
the energy of the crowds that are forming along the route. I'm taking
in the energy from the crowd and start giving high fives out to the
locals.
Mile 6: The shade from trees lining Edgwater Drive and Lake Ave
have given way to the concrete jungle of Detroit Avenue and the sun is
unleashing its energy sapping rays. I approach the six mile aid
station thinking I'm glad I carried a bottle of water and a bottle of
Gatorade in my running belt. We are almost at the half way point and I
realized I hadn't taken my GU Gel at the 45 minute mark that I had
planned and we are 60 minutes into the race. I rip open the Gel
package and suck it down in time to get a couple of cups of water to
wash it down at the aid station that I walked through this time to
maximize the amount of fluid I could get. By now my legs are feeling
heavy and it shows on the clock with a disappointing 11:25 sixth mile,
almost a full minute off the previous mile.
Mile 7: The pace slows even more to 11:38 and I'm starting to have doubts about even finishing.
Mile 8: Really starting to become a mental battle now. The
infusion of energy from the GU Gel hasn't kicked in yet and I'm
seriously consider walking the rest of the race. I had "Hit the Wall".
Just before we get to the Mile 8 aid station when I'm feeling the
worst, I see the Dunn family. The Dunn's made the 60 mile trip from
Ashtabula just to watch the race. They had set up lawn chairs on the
tree lawn on a nice shady street in Cleveland's Ohio Village. They
recognize me and shout out some encouragement. "Your looking good
Bill" is what I heard, but "I'm feeling like crap" is what I'm feeling.
I want to stop and walk but can't do it hear in sight of friends from
back home, so I plug on to the next 8 station. Mile 8 split 12:00
Mile 9: I again walked through the aid station so that I could
take in a 2nd cup of fluid and I think that the GU has kicked in,
because I'm was able to resume running at slightly faster pace (11:53)
for mile 9.
Mile 10: Pace improves a little more(11:42) as I pass through the
neighborhoods of Tremont. The 10th mile ends with a nice steady
descent into an industrial valley on the west banks of the Cuyahoga
River, but finishes with the sight of an unexpected killer hill.
Mile 11: The start of mile eleven begins with the most demoralizing
sight in the form of a hill taking us from the river valley back up to Lorain Avenue. The course was advertised as one of the flattest and
fastest courses in the country. The hill was only about an 1/8 of a
mile on the map and the elevation gain was only about 70 feet, but it
felt like a climb up Mount Suribachi. I made it about 20 yards up the
hill and decided to join the rest of the masses and walk the rest of
it. As a result, the pace fell off considerably (12:51).
Mile 12: Only 2.2 miles to go. I can do this. The last half of
mile 11 I had joined up with Traci Kitnoja, a runner from our local
running club and we ran together for a little over a half mile while
crossing the Lorain-Carnegie bridge. We chatted about this and that
and it really helped to take my mind off the race. I was getting a 2nd
wind now, but when I reached the aid station at the start of the 12th
mile I was disappointed to find out that they were out of water. I
still had one sip of water left in one of the bottles I had carried with
me, so I finished it off and headed on my way. Despite the dry oasis,
my cadence had picked up and I was feeling stronger than at any point in
the race so far. The streets of downtown Cleveland were lined with
spectators and the slow constant parade of runners passing me by was
replaced with me passing runner after runner. I passed the 12 Mile
mark with an 11:01 split, almost 2 minutes faster than the previous
mile.
Mile 13: 1.2 miles to go and still feeling strong. For a brief
moment I had a sick feeling that I missed the split where the half
marathoner and full marathon courses splits off. I looked behind me
at the runners I had just passed, then looked down at my own bib,
relieved to see the colors matching. We turn north on East 9th street
and I see the wonderful blue waters of Lake Erie ahead of me. I can
smell the cool water of the lake and best of all, it's all down hill
from here. My pace quickens even more and when I make the turn on to
Erieside Avenue for the final couple hundred yards, I break into a full
sprint passing scores of runners on my way to the finish line. With 50
yards to go, I'm thinking I started my kick too soon as my legs are
starting to feel the fatigue of the sprint. I manage to dig a little
deeper and cross the finish line with my arms raised high in the air and
semi collapse into the waiting arms of my niece Lizzie who had finished
about 15 minutes prior. Almost 25 years previously I was holding
Lizzie over the baptismal fountain as her godfather. I fight back the
tears and give thanks to my creator for giving me the strength to
finish.
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| I Did It |
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| Recovering with Lizzie |
Finish time 2:30:49
After about 30 minutes of recovery time and consuming all the liquid I
could, I called my friend and baseball teammate Cliff Packer to thank
him for his advise and suggestion. Cliff is a Doctor for the Veterans
Administration and when I called him after my heart catheterization last
summer, he suggest that I research and consider a life style change in
lieu of the coronary bypass operation that was suggested to me by the
doctors at the Cleveland Clinic. I did the research and made the
necessary changes to my exercise and eating habits. Ten months after I
was unable to run 60 yards without being out of breath, I can now call
myself a marathon man, or at least a half marathon man.
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| Brad, Bill, Annie, Emily and Lizzie |
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