I had a bit of a rough night last night, before my second half-marathon attempt. I had a dream that I had a great race, only to find out that I did not have my timing chip on my shoe, and so I had no results. I woke up several times before the alarm was supposed to go off at 5:00, but Mer got up to use the bathroom at 4:55, so I just got up.

I had a yogurt, two English muffins with (smooth) peanut butter, and a granola bar. I figured that would last me pretty well – I ran 16 miles two weeks ago on one yogurt, and last week I ran 13 miles on no breakfast. I made sure to attach my timing chip, I attached my bib number (after Mer found me two safety pins, bless her!), and even remembered my watch this year (I forgot my watch for last year’s Towpath half-marathon). I felt a little nervous, but okay.

Mer joined me in the car, and we made our way southward to Akron. Akron added the Roadrunner Marathon five years ago, but had also added a half-marathon this year. Akron also encourages two and five-person relay teams to run the marathon, so I was expecting quite a crowd. We parked in a city garage and walked the two blocks to Inventure Place, the starting area. I was surprised – I was supposed to meet my boss, Jim, and we were going to run the race together. After going to the runners’ expo, we walked over to Inventure Place and agreed on a spot to meet. When I rounded the corner this morning, I was surprised to see that spot covered in porta-potties. I told Mer that was the meeting spot, and she asked which one Jim was in.

The starting time for the race was 7:00, and we got to the starting area at 6:15, so it was still dark. I used the extra time to use a bathroom, which is an interesting experience when it is still dark outside. When I got back to Meredith, she was with Jim and his wife Andie. Jim also introduced me to Gary, a friend of his that was going to run at our pace, but for the whole marathon (wow!).

We stretched out, and Jim and Gary took a quick warm-up jog – I have never bothered with warm-up jogs – I figure I’ve got lots of time to get loose during the first few miles. We then made our way to the starting chute. We were looking for the 7:30/mile group (Jim’s and my goal was to break 1:40 for the race), and we kept walking forward and forward. We finally got very close to the front and found our area; I was a little nervous at how close to the start we were. A couple of different ministers of different faiths prayed for the race, we heard a very good rendition of the national anthem, and then the race started with the ringing of a large bell (which was a cool twist on the normal starter’s pistol). We were off!

I won’t bore you with mile-by-mile descriptions. There were some moments I liked. The race started on a slight downhill toward the valley and Akron’s interesting “Y”-bridge. We got to run over the bridge. That was cool in itself, but once on the bridge, I got to look east and see the first hints of the sun coming up. It was very pretty. After a two-mile loop, we got to run over the other side of the “Y”-bridge, and I got to see the other Akron bridge standing out against the sunrise. It was very nice.

We entered the city again, and I got to kiss my biggest fan. She always screams and jumps up and down, so I always see her; I get to run over and kiss her – it is a tradition dating back to my first marathon in 1998. She gets to stand around in the 50-degree weather to see me for 15 seconds, and her reward is a sweaty kiss. What a great wife. Jim asked me afterwards if I got a charge from kissing Mer, and I told him that I run marathons so I can kiss pretty girls in the crowd.

We were running very strongly, and I felt really good. We were putting in 7:20 miles, and even a few 7:10s or better.

CVCA, where I work, has an unusual number of distance runners working there. At Akron this year, I, Jim, and Dale were running the half. Julie was running on the relay team. CVCA alum Steven was running the full marathon. Two other CVCA alums who are brothers were on a relay team. Somewhere around mile eight, Jim mentioned he had seen a former CVCA employee, Lindsey, running. At that point I asked Jim, “What is it about CVCA that attracts running nuts?”  I then heard over my shoulder, “Hello, sir!” I turned to see one of the Founding Fools, Michelle, running next to me. She had mentioned awhile back that she was training to be part of a relay team, but I had not heard if she was still going to be able to run. Seeing her like that, in the middle of a race, was a huge kick. I shortly asked Jim, “What is it about CVCA that attracts running nuts and Fools?”

Around mile eight or so was Firestone Park. It was just a little after 8:00, so the sun was streaming through the trees at a low angle, and it was gorgeous. It was such a pretty day – in the low 50s and a blue sky and no wind. It was great.

I was beginning to wonder when I’d see Akron again – it seemed like it had been a fair time since we had left downtown. As soon as I thought that, I looked up and saw we were entering the University of Akron’s campus. That was a fun boost – it was neat to run on the paths on campus. It was around here (mile nine or so) that I started to pull away from Jim and Gary. I did not mean to leave them, but I was feeling really strong. It was not some burst-of-speed breakaway; it was rather a slow pull-away. When I saw Mer again after the University, I kissed her and kept running. She later told me Jim was right behind me.

Mer also told me that after I kissed her, a reporter from the Akron Beacon Journal told her he had seen the kiss and thought it was cute, and so he interviewed her. He found out it is our tradition, and asked her about where she worked and lived and so forth. I may have to buy a paper tomorrow and see if she is in it. As a funny aside, the reporter was surprised to find out that Mer worked at CVCA; he said he had interviewed a man before the race who had been sleeping under a CVCA blanket (the alum, Steve).

I then ran past Inventure Place again (I had not expected that!), and kept going toward the “Y”-bridge. Instead of crossing the bridge this time, the race turned left. As I started down the hill, I heard Jim yelling, “Matt! Go left!” – we were at the point where the marathoners went to the right to keep running, and where the half-marathoners turned left on to the Martin Luther King, Jr., highway, otherwise known as the Innerbelt. It was a little weird running on a three-lane highway. There were far fewer runners now that the marathoners were gone, and the crowds were gone as well (not surprising – it is not easy to get out onto the Innerbelt as a spectator). There were two solid hills on the Innerbelt – the second one was particularly hard on tired legs. But, it was followed by a nice downhill back into the downtown area. I thought we were going to have to run up a good hill in Akron, but the course turned (yay!).

The race finished in my favorite ballpark – Canal Park, home of the Akron Aeros. We actually got to run on the warning track – we came in in center field, and finished about half-way between home and first. I felt really good, and I was able to put in a near-sprint at the end.

So, I finished, and I did really well. I finished in 1:35:41 (a 7:19/mile pace). I came in 54th out of 1132 finishers (top 5%), 47th out of 593 men (top 8%), and 10th out of 103 in my division (top 10%). I was super happy with the finish.

Jim came in shortly after I did, at 1:37:15, so we both made our goal of breaking 1:40.

The website results had some ranking system that factored in age. According to that system, I was ranked “Local Class.” I feel pretty good about that. Jim, who is 54, ranked “Regional Class.”

I did some thinking along the lonely stretch of the Innerbelt. 1 Cor 13:4-5 defines love by saying, “love is patient, love is kind…it is not self-seeking.” I was thinking about that passage in light of Meredith. Here she was, getting up at 5:00 a.m on the only morning of the week where she can sleep in, standing out in the cold for over two hours, all so she could cheer me on. That is love. She is a gem, and I love her.