1999 Madison Marathon

Madison Marathon
Madison, WI
May 30, 1999

I completed my 3rd marathon yesterday. It certainly wasn't pretty, as others have noted, it was HOT! But, before I get to the race, I wanted to say a couple things about the pre-race activities:

At the last minute, plans changes and my sister and her two kids were coming with me instead of my boyfriend. Brandon, my 5yo nephew was so excited because he would be able to run a race, too--the kids run on Saturday. We left early enough on Saturday late morning to get to the host hotel before the kids' races. He did really well in the 1k race--he received his medal at the end and gave it to his 10 month old brother, Austin. How cute! Austin had a fun time slobbering on it. :-)

We went to check in our hotel, and then went back to the host hotel to meet Deads. We saw Debbie and Tom right away, and then came Alejandro, Pam, and Alejandro's friend Sergio. We waited for others, but by 5:15pm we left to go eat at Olive Garden, leaving a note to Theresa and Penny at the expo in case they went there (it turns out they did but didn't see the note). Dinner was fun, and afterwards we met at my hotel and were able to meet up with Theresa and Penny. I had a great time! You all are fun people to be with!

I got to bed at around 10:30-11:00pm and woke up surprisingly refreshed at 5:00am. Took a shower, got dressed, and went into the lobby to get a couple bagels to eat for breakfast. I was dropped off at the start by my sister at about 6:30 and sat around before the start. A little bit before 7:00 I spotted fellow Dead/Penguin Charles Cohn and talked with him up until the race started. Very nice man--sorry that he missed our pre-race festivities.

The race. Well, you've heard by now that it was HOT, even at the start I was starting the sweat a little bit. It was in the lower 70's at the start, and it got hotter and hotter, in the upper 80's maybe? The sun was blazing in the cloudless sky. Beautiful day, just not for running. My goal was to finish, preferably sub-5:15.

I'll repeat what the others said about the mile markers/aid stations. I was really glad that they had water stations every mile--I was able to fill my water bottle which was not only used to drink but to douse myself to reduce how hot I felt. I messed up my mile splits because it's hard to hit the button when you're trying to grab cups of water, too. The other times when I actually hit the button at the split, the markers were waaaay off. I had some really strange splits. I had absolutely no clue of my pace. All I know is that I passed the half way point at about 2:27 and change.

The preferable strategy of negative splits was unrealistic as I wanted, my goal was to ignore the heat and keep my legs moving. I took a lot more walking breaks after the half--unshaded breaks, where if there was no shade, I'd walk, and then when the course was shady I would run again. And the last hills, which weren't a big deal, I just wanted to give myself some more excuses to walk. ;-)

I saw my sister at around mile 8, and then when I was running in the arboretum. Also, I should mention that my yellow tank top, adorned with the words "Dead Runner" generated a lot of comments--mostly "You don't look dead!" type comments. I'm glad I did that!

I think I did pretty dealing with the heat even though it did slow me down a bit. I blame a little bit of my decreased performance from lack of LSD's over 15 miles--I only ran a 16 miler and an 18.6 miler--all the rest were half-marathon or shorter. I felt the fatigue in my quads and the soreness in my feet at about mile 14. I carried a water bottle with me which I filled at almost every water station. I took advantage of sprinklers and ice offered.

At about mile 24 I started feeling pretty good (I think the sun was hiding behind some clouds) because I knew I was pretty darned close. I ran from this point on. Before mile 25 I was blessed with the presence of Theresa and Penny, whom I was actually not expecting see, since I'd be coming in so much later than everyone else. They ran with me until mile 25, getting me water and encouragement and taking some pictures. You guys really got me psyched!

Shortly after that I hooked up with Tom Mish on his bike and talked with him for a while--thanks, Tom! I started running a bit faster and passed a few people. Then the home stretch--saw my sister and nephews, and Alejandro and Pam. Heard my name over the loud speaker and crossed the finish line in 5:20:1x. Not bad, considering the hot conditions and my slight lack of preparation.

I felt pretty good at the end. I knew that I had hydrated well. So, I'll call it a draw between me and the heat. I reunited with Alejandro and Pam, who were so helpful and congratulatory. My sister and nephews came along shortly after that. Pam got me more water and a sponge, Alejandro took pictures. I was so happy to be done! My sister and I parted with Alejandro and Pam because I needed to get back to the hotel and take a much needed shower--luckily the hotel allowed me a 2:00pm check out time so I could do this!

The heat and messed up mile markers/aid station configuration aside, I enjoyed this marathon. The course was really pretty. I'd consider doing it again--hopefully it won't be so hot next time.

My next plan is to recover, start some formal marathon speed training, and look towards having a good summer so that I can kick some butt on October 24th at Chicago. Last year's time was 4:38:48, I'd like to go sub-4:30 this time.

1999 Great Western 30k

Great Western 30k
St. Charles, IL
May 2, 1999

I ran the Great Western 30k in St. Charles, IL, last Sunday. My goal for this race was to enjoy it, start out conservatively, and not kill myself, as this is the longest distance I've run since October--I was treating it as training for the upcoming Madison Marathon on May 30.

The race started at 8:00am, with about 215 runners there. The weather was mild, sunny, and cloudless, but at least there was a nice breeze. The course is on the Great Western Trail, which is mostly made up of crushed limestone, with portions of the trail made up of asphalt, and is out and back (the GW trail actually lasts 17 miles going west to Sycamore from St. Charles). It is slightly hilly--the hills are actually the bridges that go over busy roads, but there enough of them to make your legs more tired and cranky. I started out slowly, slightly disappointed that the rest of the runners were pulling away, with me as the tail end. 8-( I was going at about an 11:15-25 pace, a nice comfortable training pace for me, and I was convinced that I'd be passing people during the second half.

Nonetheless, it sure is discouraging to know that the lag bike person is right behind you. 8-) I was good, though, and held back, and this technique would pay off. After the 4th mile, I passed one woman, who was actually running/walking--she would shuffle for about 30 seconds, then start walking, repeating as such probably for the duration of the race. The sun was hot, but it was at our backs for the first half, and I was worried that it would be bad on the way back. But I ran on, comfortably, noticing the beauty of this trail, which provides quite a bit of shade. The trail is sort of elevated, with sunken meadows/wooded areas on each side. It's neat that you get to see the trees at their prettiest perspective--looking at their spring foliage instead of their tree trunks. The trail also goes along the backyards (but still separated by trees) of a sprinkling of beautiful homes. There are also the horse trails that not only are along the side of the limestone/asphalt trail, but also through the meadows. I actually passed some horse riders on the way back.

I pass a couple more people before I get to the turnaround point, feeling great, having fun encouraging those who were already starting their journey to the finish, and having a good run in general. I get to the turnaround, and pass a couple more runners. Luckily, even though I'm facing the sun, there is a headwind--just breezy enough to be pleasant. The miles go by, I noticed that the mile 11 marker is way off--there was no way I ran a 14:42 mile! And of course, I ran the next mile in 7:29, which was obviously off. :-) I pass more people--some are walking now, probably affected by the warmth.

At about mile 14 is when my legs started to feel a little heavy--I knew my distance training hasn't been ideal--but I did not let myself waver. I knew that if I took a walking break, that it would've lasted longer than anticipated, and running again would be much more difficult. There were encouraging/funny signs in the last miles of the course: one said "Getting tired yet????", another one said "Almost there :-("--which probably should have read "Almost there :-) :-)"! I was determined to finish without fading. I passed more runners, suffered through the couple uphills (not really that bad, but after 18 miles...) and was able to see the finish line when I was about 20 seconds away from it. I sped up as much as I could and crossed the finish line amid the cheers of runners who had stayed around to see the back-of-the-packers. My time was 3:28:29, and my pace was actually faster at this race than last weekend's Lake County Half Marathon. Unfortunately I couldn't make it a "negative" experience, with my second half 1min40sec slower than the first half. Good enough, though. :-)

I received my medal, got my results card, and went over to get my finisher's shirt. The long-sleeved shirt is a dusty blue with Great Western 30k glitter-lettering on it with a fox below it (the fox is for the club that organizes the race, Fox River Trail Runners). Neat looking shirt!

I highly recommend this race, it's beautiful and well-organized (albeit the messed up mile markers). I'm sure I'll be doing this one again.

Happy running,

Kelly