Or at least I hope I am!
A while back my buddy Beal asked if I would be interested in running on his Akron Marathon relay team since he had an open spot. Since I was finally coming back from my IT band injury, I jumped at the opportunity to get a taste of the running scene again.
I was lucky enough to get the first leg of the relay, which was only 3.9 miles long. This was be perfect because it would give me time to run my leg, get to mile 10 to see Ryan (who was running the full), and then to the finish line.
Team Beal aka Beal’s B*tches
The day before the relay, I broke all my pre-race rules. I ate sweet potato fries with Sriracha mayo and who knows what other junk food. On race morning, I had a bagel with cream cheese and apple juice. These are things I NEVER eat before a race; it was almost like I forgot how to prepare for a race.
Akron Marathon Starting Line
On race morning, I was unbelieveably calm. I was excited to race but had absolutely zero pre-race nerves. It was actually kind of nice. After running into several runners and saying my hellos, I lined up with my good friend Cheyrl to run the first mile or 2 of the race. My goal was 8 min miles. If you know me at all, you know how much I love running fast.
One of the coolest things ever started at the beginning of the race. FIREWORKS!!! Lots of them. This really pumped up the runners. I am hoping that more races can do something like this.
My goal of 8 min miles lasted about half a mile. It felt so good to run fast that I kept going faster. I kept hitting 7:30s and 7:15s pretty easily, but I slowed myself down so that I didn’t agitate my IT Band. I think I ended with a 7:51 pace for 3.9 miles.
The relay exchanges for this race are extremely well executed. The exchange zones didn’t interfere at all with the rest of the race. This is very impressive. At the end of my leg, I was happy to pass off the “baton” (slap bracelet) to Beal to start the second leg.
Not too shabby team.
Overall, I felt amazing racing again and enjoyed every minute of it. This was the first relay that I have ever done and I look forward to doing more.
Beal, Me and John “Gramps” #dirtyrunners
Huge shout out to those who ran the full. The full for this course is definitely a challenging one! My “cousin-in-law” MaryPat ran an awesome time and is heading to Columbus next month (or this month depending on when you read this). My amazing fiance ran SUB 3 HOURS! WOW, Talk about speedy. I told him now he needs to train me to do the same thing. I hope he know I am serious.
Ryan, Me and MaryPat
Anyone else run a part of the Akron Marathon? I’m always impressed with their races.
P.S. I have a special guest post tomorrow!
congrats on your official return to racing! and to ryan for running like an absolute beast! i’ve always been intimidated to run akron because of how hilly i have heard it is.
Exciting that you’re BACK!!!!!!
I checked the splits and it said I ran 7 minute miles during the first leg…just sayin. lol. Thanks again for running with us. I’m so glad you had fun and are running pain free again. Long live Beal’s B*tches!!!!
woohoo! so glad to hear it! congrats to your mister!