4/50 - 2010 Traverse City Marathon

I had about 10 weeks to train for this race.  I was feeling good after the Napa Marathon and eased back into training with 25 mile weeks, ultimately peaking with a 55 mile week, three weeks before the race.  Of course, I wasn’t that diligent with my training plan.  I did take a week off in April in preparation for Dark Lord Day (www.darklordday.com). 

Having visited Traverse City before, we knew just where to stay.  The Wellington Inn (http://www.wellingtoninn.com/) is a great B&B in the heart of Traverse City run by the nicest couple.  We made a three-day reservation with them over Memorial Day weekend.  On our drive up, we stopped at Founders Brewery in Grand Rapids for lunch then proceeded to the expo and pasta dinner that the Traverse City Central High School track team was hosting for all the runners.  It was Friday and the race was to be held the following morning. 

The course runs along the west shore of East Grand Traverse Bay, up the Old Mission Peninsula,  and is an out and back.  This was my first experience with an out and back course.  These are fun because you get to see the runners at the front and back of the pack and cheer them on as you pass.  The course is flat, fast and quite scenic and this was a beautiful, crisp morning for a race.

I wasted no time getting into it and clocked an average of 6:25 miles for the first five.  Whoa, too fast!  I got caught up in a group that was led by the high school track coach.  The guy was fast.  I shouldn’t have done it but at this point, I figured that I would just hang on as long as I could.  That worked until the halfway point when the stomach cramp started.  Since it was an out and back, my wife was to meet me at mile 12 and again as I turned back at mile 14.  I didn’t see her at mile 12 and when I did find her at mile 14, I was seriously considering dropping out.  You see, Michigan has a lot of good beer and the Traverse City area is known for its wineries.  Sounds like a good reason to cut out of this misery early!

Too determined to finish, I ran through the cramps until they subsided at mile 19.  From here, it was a grueling finish with a full sprint for the last mile.  I’m usually one to have a smile on my face through to the end, but as this race finish photo shows I was just about to puke!  This is why I don’t like running 5Ks.  When I’m running at close to 100% effort, there’s close to a 100% chance I’m going to throw up in my mouth a little.   How’s that for imagery?

I had a new PR with a 2:53 finish.  My nauseous feeling soon subsided and I felt great.  Afterwards, as if the race weren’t enough, we rode our bicycles up the same peninsula (about 35 miles round trip) to do some wine tasting – the best along this route being Two Lads (http://www.2lwinery.com/).  Being married to me is exhausting. 

Later that afternoon, we stumbled upon Jolly Pumpkin restaurant (http://www.jollypumpkin.com/), a very cool microbrewery making beers far different than any we’ve tried before - still up there as one of our favorite beers and to this day, the most amazing lake perch I’ve had.  The restaurant is situated on the coast of Bowers Harbor and has an outdoor patio that overlooks the waterfront.  They also happened to be hosting a wedding on the lawn that we and a few bikers spectated while imbibing. 

A lot of beer sampling in these parts but the stand out was certainly Jolly Pumpkin.  As far as other restaurants, The Cooks’ House (http://www.thecookshouse.net/) was a great little place featuring local sustainable cuisine.  There are also additional wineries scattered about the Leelanau Peninsula, one of our favorites of which is L. Mawby (www.lmawby.com), a maker of sparkling wines. We think these wines even rival many true Champagnes, and at a tiny fraction of the price (which is extra helpful if you’re looking to get some carbs back into your body after a marathon). You can find several varieties in some Chicago-area stores, including Pastoral and at some Whole Foods Markets.

This is a great race in a really cool town and a fantastic drive up the Michigan coast.