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Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie - RunHalf Marathon


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Erie, Pennsylvania
United States
Biggest Loser
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 41m 11s
Overall Rank = 612/857
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 63/104
Pre-race routine:

Got to Erie around lunch-time on Friday which allowed plenty of time for a recon mission to Presque Isle. Boy, what a beautiful state park with so much to offer! Had lunch at the touristy little food area at the park entrance. Left the park to head to the Convention Center to pick up our packets and check out the expo. Cuda also wanted to switch her registration from walk to run, which she did.

Pam from the most recent season of the Biggest Loser was on site to meet and greet and later be a speaker for the expo, so we made our way over to get our pictures with her. What a good ambassador and public persona with plenty of energy and charisma! She seemed very down-to-earth, personable, and willing to take time to speak to those who approached her and ask about them, too. We briefly discussed races and I told her she is looking good and she started talking about how much harder it is to keep the weight down and fitness up when off the ranch, no real surprise there, but it was cool she spoke about it. I would've loved to talked to her longer (as would've she) but there were others waiting so I reluctantly parted ways. She would definitely be fun to have dinner with and just talk to and share stories.

I bought two inexpensive beads/charms for my bracelet, one that reminded me of the water of the lake (blue glass) and the other was a tortoise and a hare, together. Very cool. Also bought a new little tri sticker for my car. Finished with the expo, we headed to the hotel to get settled in and meet up with Cuda's friends S and K. Basically just chilled the rest of the night after getting dinner at Lonestar.

Knowing race parking would be a bit tough, we decided to get there nice and early. Ate a Bonk Breaker and some iced tea for breakfast on the way there. Left hotel at 4:55, arrived at the parking area around 5:40. Got out in the dark to walk around and check things out, then sat in the car until the sun came up. Got all our goodies together, checked my car keys at the bag check and walked around some more.
Event warmup:

Did my usual blend of static and dynamic stretches outside of the starting area, then we lined up along the chute, trying to seed ourselves appropriately. They had some pacers but not for all the pace time groups, so it jumped from 8:00 to 9:30, then the tens, then 11:30 to 13:00. Oh well, I had my Garmin, no need for pacers. Tried to continue stretching while we waited but it was crowded and there wasn't much room. Chatted with a woman near me who lost 60 lbs., has 3 kids, was originally training for a 5K but it got cancelled so she did this race. First race ever. Very cool.

They pushed back the start time since a lot of people were still arriving late. Eventually Dan (also a previous Biggest Loser contestant) sang the National Anthem and they did a little bit of a staggered start. A bit disorganized, but it all worked out. Here we go!
Run
  • 2h 41m 11s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

Here we go! Oh no, I think I gotta go, I'm gonna blame all that waiting around. Don't want to join the yellow sock club, as someone once creatively dubbed it, so I kept an eye open for the closest facility, of which there are quite a few throughout the course. As we made our way down the street, I was amazed at the amout of cars parked far from start with the green participant parking passes we were given. Made me wonder if those were some of the late arrivals that delayed the start.

Just after mile 2 I found what I was looking for - rest facilities not far off the road, yes! A quick in, go and out and I was back on the road in less than 2 minutes. Well worth it! Aaahhhhhhh, so much better!

OK, now that I could concentrate again, I kept an eye on the Garmin to stay within the range I thought I could handle considering my not-quite-where-it-should-be training. For some reason the first few miles seemed to pass slowly, so I looked at scenery and other competitors. Noteworthy were the race walkers who were walking the same speed I was 'running', a large fellow who was incorporating the run/walk strategy (and doing very well with it), two younger girls, one of which kept jumping over the cones in the road, and two twentysomething girls in matching pink tanks who were also applying the race/walk strategy at what seemed to be my exact pace. They'd pass me running, I'd pass them when they walked. Rinse, repeat, many, many times over. I eventually started up a little convo ("We really need to stop meeting like this") with them which led to some sort of comment being made by me or them each time we passed. I had my Fuel Belt with 2 bottles each of Infinit and water, plus a flask of EFS raspberry gel (I only used half), so I had no need to take anything from the aid stations. There were a man and a woman biking who must've been watching/cheering for someone in my general vicinity because I'd see them cheering the racers on, then I'd see them ride ahead, then see them stopped, cheering again (again, rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat). It was actually a little funny for some reason. I kept getting comments about my zombie shirt (the back reads, "In case of zombies, I'm tripping you"), I think it made people laugh (in a good way).

I was feeling pretty good at my pace and around mile 7 thought, "Hmm, maybe I can actually keep this up and finish close to x time". Silly, silly, FOOLISH girl, what were you thinking? Through mile 9 I ran non-stop but admittedly 8 and 9 were probably when I started to slow a bit (I didn't look at the Garmin splits yet). I think seeing the success of the Pink Tank Girls' run/walk effort made me think I could try that, too, that walking might be a good idea. At some point during mile 9 I did it - I decided to walk for just about 100 feet or so. Dumb. It felt OK to stop running but boy did it hurt to restart. From here on out is where the wheels completely fell off.

I would run and try to make myself run at a pace a little faster than my body wanted to at this point, but lack of fitness, pain and mental slippage would cause me to periodically walk a little. Each time I needed to run again, it hurt so badly, 'it' really meaning my knees. Because of this, I tried to make myself only run but I just couldn't maintain that plan. During mile 10, going over a little bridge, is when I came completely unglued. I started running up the bridge, then for no good reason my body decided to walk, then stop, without consulting my brain, not a concious decision. I stretched against the guardrail, hoping some of my knee pain would miraculously dissapate. Nope. Foolish thoughts. I began walking again and, dare I admit, also had a few tears coming out of my eyes, mingling with my sweat over the pain in my knees and the frustration of the situation. Thankfully the nice part of my brain took over instead of the dark side: "You are not quitting. You still have just under 3 miles to go, you can get there, you will get there. DNF is not an option." Steeling myself against the extra painful running restart, I moved my feet faster from a walk to a shuffle/run.

The last 2+ miles are a bit of a blur, just hanging in there, painfully trying to continue running but needing to stop but yet pushing myself to just get done as fast as I can to end the misery. By this point I had depleted my Fuel Belt drinks so I took water from the aid stations. Interestingly enough, this period is when I also received the most encouragement from other participants. I tried to smile for the photographers, but I was genuinely, incredibly happy to finally see the finish arch with its orange, blue and white balloons. Crossed the timing strip, hit stop and whew, done!! Received my medal and slowly made my way toward the finishing corral.
What would you do differently?:

Not stop to walk, if possible.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed water and a pluot, walked around a little. Got my picture with Pam again (this time all sweaty and icky), listened to Dan and his band play as I walked around. Let people take a pic of my zombie shirt. Zoned out and totally missed the awards ceremony, possibly because I was looking for K and S. Found them, compared race notes a little, then went to the finish area to watch for Cuda. I waited for a little, then decided to go to car to get the real camera rather than use cell phone camera and ol' Murphy struck, of course - Cuda was just going past as I returned to the finish chute area, so I got a pic of her back, LOL.

After meeting up with K and S and some new friends that Cuda made during the run, we changed and headed to Beach 9 to swim. Wow, did that feel good after I was able to acclimate to the water and get fully submerged! Such clear water, too, loved it! After enjoying some sun and swim, we headed back to the car. While we were loading the car, two vehicles come flying in the parking area, loaded with late teen or early 20 year olds (males in one car, females in another) who are yelling, fighting, screaming and dropping the F bomb at each other left and right. Not cool at a family park/beach. Anyway, I started walking toward the bath house to change and I heard, "Lady. Hey lady!" It was the rowdy young females. I kept walking, hoping she meant the woman nearer to them loading her car. Nope, she wanted me, apparently since the other woman didn't reply and the girl kept yelling. I turned around, somewhat reluctant to get involved. The long-haired, bikini-clad speaker asked for directions to Beach 11, which I gave then quickly headed for the restroom. After I changed and went back to the car, Cuda said, "Did you get a bit of a Pennsatucky vibe from that girl?", referencing Orange is the New Black. OMG, I started howling with laughter because her observation was spot on! Made me chuckle the rest of the weekend. Later met up with Cuda's other friend K from Erie and hit the downtown to check out the Celebrate Erie festivities. Saw a street fight, ate at an Irish Pub, took pics of the Chalk Walk. Good times!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of proper training (had some personal issues/challenges during July/Aug plus did a lot of traveling in the weeks prior to the race). Being overweight. Having bad knees with varying degrees of remaining cartiledge.

Event comments:

They started the race about 15-20 minutes late since people were arriving so late. Strange, very strange. Not sure who made this decision or why.

Since it is a Biggest Loser branded race, it was very beginner friendly and inclusive. Water stops every mile. Extended time limit. It was neat to see some of the folks who stepped up to the challenge and completed the challenge.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2013-04-30 12:00 AM
Running
02:41:11 | 13.1 miles | 12m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 63/104
Overall: 612/857
Performance:
Course: Starts at Beach 11 and goes along the lake side of the penninsula until near the park entrance/Beach 1, then turns around and returns the same route until the duck pond area, then it runs along the bay side of the isle to finish back at Beach 11. Flat, flat, flat.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2013-08-20 3:22 PM

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Pennsylvania
Subject: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie


2013-08-20 3:45 PM
in reply to: #4834678

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Master
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Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie
Very cool, Melanie!  Way to find the mental strength to continue and finish!  Neat that you got to chat with Pam, too.
2013-08-20 3:59 PM
in reply to: #4834678

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Master
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Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie

Awesome RR and great pix!!!

I'm glad that you enjoyed part of the race and powered through the bad stuff. The pre and post race festivities sound awesome and I am sooooo jealous of your beach swim. Glad to hear your talk with Pam was good because she was irritating on the show Embarassed.

You did a great job with the challenges you faced and sounds like you made a great weekend of it.

2013-08-20 4:41 PM
in reply to: rrrunner

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Seattle
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie

AHHHHHH great pictures!!! and OMG Pennsatucky!! Hahaha amazing.

 

Anyway, look at the HUGE improvement from your last HM! That is amazing! I think you can run your entire next HM, just you wait!

2013-08-20 4:57 PM
in reply to: Asalzwed

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Royal(PITA)
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West Chester, Ohio
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie

Great job adapting as you needed to.

 I find it BRUTAL to start running once I cave in to a walk even a 30 second break.

2013-08-20 5:07 PM
in reply to: Asalzwed

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Regular
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Caerphilly, Wales, uk.
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie
Loving that medal. Well done on getting through it. As you said, you were ok up until mile 10, I bet the next time will be all good all the way.


2013-08-21 9:10 AM
in reply to: Asalzwed

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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie
Originally posted by Asalzwed

AHHHHHH great pictures!!! and OMG Pennsatucky!! Hahaha amazing.

 

Anyway, look at the HUGE improvement from your last HM! That is amazing! I think you can run your entire next HM, just you wait!

Yes, whenever my next HM happens (probably in 2014), it will be a redemption race for both April and August and *should* go better yet.  I truly feel I haven't given this distance the effort it deserves or the effort I'm capable of.  I just need to tease that effort out of me and give it a fair shake.

2013-08-21 9:12 AM
in reply to: Richardsdrr

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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie

Originally posted by Richardsdrr Loving that medal. Well done on getting through it. As you said, you were ok up until mile 10, I bet the next time will be all good all the way.

The structure on the medal is supposed to be a representation of the first pic in the grouping.  I called it a lighthouse, but K from Erie informed me it technically wasn't, but I can't remember what she called it.  There is a real lighthouse out on the penninsula.

2013-08-21 12:23 PM
in reply to: melbo55

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Champion
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Austin, Texas
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie

Way to go!!! 

Fantastic pics, and great job adjusting your race as you needed to - CONGRATS!!! 

2013-08-21 12:48 PM
in reply to: blueyedbikergirl

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Veteran
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Austin, Texas
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie

Well done!  Great pics of a beautiful area, too.

Congrats!

Matt

PS - pluots... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... pluots...   Laughing

2013-08-21 1:57 PM
in reply to: mcmanusclan5

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Master
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Raleigh, NC area
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie
Great effort!  Beautiful medal, awesome mental fortitude!


2013-08-22 4:00 PM
in reply to: jmkizer

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Master
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Overland Park, KS
Subject: RE: Biggest Loser RunWalk Erie
MELANIE !!!!!!

Great job pushing through. Running or walking with pain is not fun. I like the Zombie t-shirt verbage.
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