Race Report: Green Bay Marathon

That. Was. FUN!

We got back in last night, and I am still riding the high from the weekend’s events. Things went perfectly according to plan! I went into this race viewing it as a training run, not a hill on which to die, and that’s what I got out of it. I felt awesome afterward, and today’s initial post-race run went beautifully, with no more soreness than I’d expect to feel after any other hard weekend of training.

On Saturday, both boys ran the Kids’ Power Run, a 1K race associated with the marathon. They had separate age-grouped waves, and Sam ran his alone about an hour before I had to run Gabe’s with him. Sam got a side stitch and stomach cramp pretty early on (probably not aided by wolfing down a huge muffin just before heading to the starting line), but he soldiered on and did his utmost to finish strong. Gabe got increasingly impatient as his turn approached, and he even got a bit nervous at the start line. Then the air horn sounded, and he burst onto the course as though it was a 100-meter dash. Naturally, he, too, got his own side stitch. He toughed it out, giving high fives to everybody he passed on the way to the finish line, and then he chugged a bunch of Gatorade (a beverage to which he now pledges allegiance). Both kids got rubber medals, which is awesome, I think.

Sunday morning, I hopped out of bed and geared myself up in everything I’d use for a training run, which had the effect of making me look a bit over-prepared. I heard a few people waiting in the Lambeau Field Atrium with me saying I looked as though I was going to run an ultra; it was better when they actually said as much directly to me, as though in a joke, so I could reply that, yes, that was the general eventual idea. I met up with the four-hour pace group, who were wonderfully friendly, and chatted with the leaders, two of whom were also ultrarunners. They understood immediately about my plan, which was encouraging.

It was warmer than I would have liked, but otherwise, the day was lovely. We all laughed and talked as we ran; within a few miles, another runner named Maria and I had formed a sort of alliance to get each other through. She was dealing with an ankle issue, and I let her know that I had a topical pain killer in my pack, should she need it. We slapped high fives at every mile marker, and those miles seemed to fly by! We carried each other for nearly nineteen miles, before she had to stop to use a bathroom and told me to go ahead.

After that, I latched onto Gordy, the most aggressive of the three pace group leaders. It wasn’t so much that I felt like being aggressive, but he was highly entertaining in his enthusiasm, and I decided that was just what the doctor ordered. For the rest of the race, I stuck with him, and the miles melted away. Near the end, I felt a little tired, and I fell behind him a bit, but not very much, and I wound up crossing the finish line at 3:57:45 – not a PR (I wasn’t aiming for one, of course!), but the most solid finish I’ve had at a marathon yet! It gave me a ton of confidence for heading into Devil’s Lake in eight weeks!

I never did get to see Maria again, though I waited at the reunion sign for her last name for a while. (When calling out for her last name, I forgot to also ask whether she was going to be at the sign, meeting family or friends. D’oh!) I did give her this URL, though, so…Maria, if you read this, drop me a line! I loved running with you! And Gordy: I didn’t give you my URL, but if by chance you come across this, I need to give you my thanks, as well. You made the race experience a total blast and success for me, and I can’t convey how much I appreciate it. Thank you!

So…one more race (the Lighthouse 10-miler) coming up, and then it’s ultra time. I feel jazzed! Of course, I still have three more really big training runs left, and they won’t have pace groups to help. Onward and upward!