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.
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.
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