A story of going from being a non-runner to planning for a marathon in three years...

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Hermes Cleveland 10 Mile Race Report


The Top 10 Best Things About Pacing Someone Slower Than You Through Her First 10 Mile Race

10. You have plenty of time to think of a list like this.

9. You can high five all the little kids you want.

(My favorite part? When some kids hand their hands out but as soon as I came by they put them down. "No love for me?" I asked. I got my high fives then.)

8. You can read all the signs held by spectators.

(Such as: "You're kicking asana")

7. Your knee doesn't hurt at all thanks to semi-frequent walk breaks.

6. You don't care that you have to stop and wait for the mile 6 aid station to fill a cup with Gatorade for you.

5. You have lots of energy to make stupid faces at your husband, the photographer, even at mile 9.


(And at the official race photographers. I bet those photos turn out pretty good.)

4. You get good practice moving for almost two hours.

3. You get to pass on your hard earned race knowledge about things such as attaching race bibs.


2. You have plenty of breath to scream encouragement as you approach the finish line.



(Side note: holy shit I have arm muscles)

And the number 1 best thing about pacing someone slower than you through her first 10 mile race....

1. Sharing in her joy and excitement at finishing her longest distance run ever.

In case you hadn't gathered, Rae and I successfully finished the Hermes Cleveland 10 Mile Race on Saturday. What with my knee issues and Rae having several monkey wrenches thrown into her training we weren't sure how we'd do. Thankfully my knee gave me zero issues and Rae managed to run more than she thought she could.

We ran the first 3.5 miles with no breaks and then started a run-walk pattern of run half or three quarters of a mile, walk .1 to .25 of a mile. We finished with an average 11:30 pace for an official time of 1:54:21. Rae's original goal was either 1:50 or under 2 hours. We were pretty close to Goal A and we definitely hit Goal B. And Rae was even running during mile 9 which she originally didn't think she'd be doing! All in all, I have to say it was a success.

Cleveland 10 Miler by snmnstrz21 at Garmin Connect - Details