Still enjoying the success

It is been a couple of weeks since the marathon and I am still enjoying the feeling of success I had after completing the event. I am still on cloud nine and I don't think I will break out of it any time soon. At times I think about the possibility of running another marathon very soon but my real interest is in triathlon. I want to take what I learned from my marathon training and put it towards my triathlon training.

Of course, this will be adjusted as the arrival of our son is coming very soon. We are not sure when but he will be here before we know it. For now, I have to focus on being ready to be a parent and possibly include some workouts here and there. For sure I know that I will be racing the Greater Cleveland Triathlon in August. This year once more we are planning on having another raffle and hopefully the same degree of success as last year. So, if you are looking for a race give the Greater Cleveland Triathlon a good consideration because this one race I highly recommend.

So, although it is been a couple of weeks now I still remember a thing or two about the marathon I fought so hard to finish. The first part of the race was very similar to the course we get to run during the Thanksgiving Day Race in November. Right from the start we had to contend with several "hills" more like overpass bridges to get from downtown Cincinnati over to the Northern Kentucky side and back over to Cincinnati. One really great thing was to be running along Seventh St right in downtown. The noise from the people linning this street was incredible. I've never felt anything like that before and it was something I really enjoyed. It inspired me a great deal to see so many people out there cheering you on. Interestingly enough right about the point before we made the turn on to Seventh St. I was starting to feel some discomfort from the 7 minute mile pace I was keeping at this point. But once I heard the noise it really got me going again just ahead of the hardest part of the course going into Eden Park and a constat uphill for the better part of 2 miles maybe even more. That was really brutal on the legs but once beyond this point I could get my act together and continue to keep pace.

I was really blown away at the half way mark and the time I clocked at this point... 1:34.01... my fastest half-marathon time to date. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!! This milestone helped me to stay with it but I was starting to feel the pain of my effort. I was able to keep my 7 minute per mile pace all the way to mile marker 18 where I really started to struggle. This is where the group being paced for the 7 minute mile goal passed me. I tried as hard as I could to stay with them. But the legs here did not want to have anything to do with that sort of pace. So, slowly I had to take off my foot from the gas pedal and attempt to hold until the end.

Due to a fire on mile 23 the course had to be extended for about 0.25 miles and really at this point my customary cramps started all over my legs. I think that I even felt the muscles of my face and neck strain from the effort. It was a strange feeling but I was hurting all over the place.

I remember the most the last 200 yards with the crowds in full force cheering all of us in. My legs were about to shot down as the cramps were strongest at this point. But my brain was not going to let me stop in front all of this people. There was people on both side and above you which made the noise that much more intense. So, instead of stopping I shuffled my way in to the finish with an official time of 3 Hours 29 Minutes and 52 seconds.

All together this was great experience. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!

For this fundraiser we were able to raise a GRAND TOTAL OF $1325.59 that will go a long way to help NATT continue their work to STOP THE CLOT. There is a lot we need to do to spread the word about blood clots and blood clotting disorders.

I don't know when I will be able to do one of this marathons again but now I know that I can push myself hard enough to get the time that I need to qualify for Boston. Who knows, I may have to wait a couple of more years so that I can have a little cushier qualiying time. However, the 3:10 that I need at this point it is still within my grasp... at least I really think so.

So, this is a long post. I very much appreciate your attention.

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster