11/50 - Grandma's Marathon

After Vermont, I took the week off to rest up for the beginning of a series of three 5k races in my hometown. Most runners have their own secret race that they use as a confidence booster. You know the race - it’s the one that not too many competitive runners participate in and the one you don’t tell your friends about because they just might steal your moment. The Homewood/Flossmoor 5k series is mine. In 2010, I ran all three races with the best overall combined time. This year, I had some great competition waiting for me and lucky for them, they were able to take advantage of my ravaged legs from the heavy marathon schedule as of recently. I started this year’s series off with a 3^rd place finish and a sign of just how much these marathons were taking their toll on my body! Having just completed the 2^nd in the series this past weekend (with a few wrong turns that put my total distance at about 3.5 miles!), there are three of us with similar cumulative times. The final race will be interesting.
   
I had a good two, 40+ mile weeks after the 5k in spite of the fact that I picked up a part-time job after Vermont (in addition to the full-time gig) working at a running store. I was warned that the irony of working in a running store is that you will run fewer miles than ever before. So far, so true! The tradeoff is that there’s nothing more exciting to me than seeing the enthusiasm of all types of runners coming into the store and helping them find the right shoe or gear to better assist with their training. Also, it was a great way to help me heal my aching hamstrings!
 
I had a nice two week taper for this race – a 19 mile week and a 4 mile week. A last minute opportunity came for the wife and me to fly to Belgium for a long weekend right before we were to ride our motorcycles to Duluth, MN for the Grandma’s Marathon. She had some work to tend to and I had the world’s best beer to find, drink and maybe bring home! Belgium proved to be the perfect melding of French and Flemish cultures and a nice break from running for a bit. Beer, waffle, frites and chocolate repeated for three days…
 
Then on to Duluth, by way of motorcycle. We started our bike trip the day after we got back. Two days of riding through the Wisconsin backcountry was a beautiful escape from our hectic, day-to-day lives. I intentionally didn’t book much for this 10-day trip. We planned to get to Duluth, run the race and just explore all the nooks and crannies of WI and MI. After two days of riding on scenic roads along rivers and through dairy pastures and taking notable stops at New Glarus Brewery and Leinenkugel’s Brewery, we settled into the cold, rain of Duluth in our college dorm accommodations. We found a great Italian place with a beautiful view of the lake for a pre-race dinner (http://www.vabenecaffe.com/va-bene-caffe.html).

The morning of the race remained cold and wet with the rain finally letting up at the start. Grandma’s has a reputation for being a PR course because it’s pretty flat. In its 35^th running, the start corrals were noticeably skewed toward the sub 3-hour runner. To date, Boston is the only other race where I’ve seen this. I settled into a 6:30/mile pace knowing it probably wasn’t a good idea. I thought I was starting off slow based on where I lined up in the corral. I came to find out that the runners around me were actually starting conservatively (well, with the exception of the three middle-aged guys dressed as Steve Prefontaine - complete with 70’s track shorts and mustache!) as most were shooting for times in the 2:40 finish. Whoops! After the half, I settled into a more realistic pace and met up with Doug Kurtis – the 59 year-old that won the race a few times. Doug was now on pace to complete his 299^th sub 3-hour marathon. I was on pace with him to complete my 8^th. What can I say; he’s got a few years on me!
 
The last two miles were the most painful I’ve felt since my first marathon. I’m sure a combination of Belgium, beer and 700 miles on a motorcycle didn’t help, but I was actually sore for days after this race. Having been humbled most recently at the Vermont Marathon last month, I went into the Grandma’s Marathon knowing that I wasn’t in shape to run my best. I just wanted another sub-3 hour marathon in my quest for the 50 states. I got it, my 8th, with the company of Doug, who completed his 299^th sub-3 hour marathon. It was just another reminder that in life, there’s always someone, somewhere, going harder, faster and longer.

The healing process began with a great beer tasting at http://www.fitgers.com/ for lunch then dinner and a movie (Midnight in Paris – fantastic!) at http://www.zinema2.com/ (a cool indie brew and view with a great restaurant attached) in downtown Duluth before hopping back on the bikes to explore the Upper Peninsula and eventually make our way back down to our regularly-scheduled lives.

Grandma's - The Wife's Perspective

I've already explained that my husband is insane. And based on the fact that he has (1) run a couple of marathons on little to no training, (2) ridden his motorcycle 180+ miles after work to Indianapolis just to run a race the next morning and then drive home, (3) run 2 marathons in a single weekend, and (4) run 4 marathons in just over 6 consecutive weeks, I think I have also proven that fact. So when he told me he wanted to take an extended motorcycle trip incorporating the Duluth marathon and as much camping as possible, I shrugged and started packing my bags. I knew it wouldn't do any good to ask him whether he wouldn't be uncomfortable riding that long/far and then racing, and then riding some more, not to mention sleeping on the ground. I know better than to do anything but just go with it.

Besides, I was eager to take the trip myself! I just bought my "big girl" bike last October, and as of this spring had managed to put maybe 600 miles total on it. It was just begging to be ridden for real, and I was ready for the challenge. Even when we were delayed leaving our house by almost 2 hours after we planned due to rain and my husband asked whether I wouldn't rather take the car, I insisted on the bikes.

And the first two days were so, so lovely. Lots of sunshine (once that initial rain passed), decent temperatures, a few good brewery stops, and the freedom of being so unplugged from work (though I had my iPhone with me, we had nowhere to lock a laptop so I had to leave that – and any serious possibility of doing work – behind), all the way to Duluth. And then the rain and cold truly made itself known. I worried for the marathon. I already knew it would be unpleasant, since my husband had done nothing but eat and drink for the 2 weeks prior (when in Belgium…), even despite our best intentions to spend some time running through Brussels. And by all accounts it was difficult. He finished sub 3-hours, but other than this race I have never known him to be tired or sore afterward. He was definitely feeling it. 

For my part, because this race was a point to point and I didn't have transportation (we had dropped off my bike with the uber-capable folks at Harley for some service and there was no way I was going to chance taking my husband's baby out alone in the rain and on the hilly streets), this was the only race so far where I've gotten to sleep in. I went back to bed for a couple of hours, then woke up, walked to the local farmers' market for coffee and a muffin and strolled toward the finish line (it was about a 3 1/2 mile walk downhill which was great on the way there, but TERRIBLE for both of us on the way back!). I was able to see him about 1 ½ miles from the finish, then take a shortcut right to the end while those silly runners kept running down the street. Good thing he had had me bring a whole bag of dry clothes with him – he was soaked and starting to turn a bit blue by the time I met up with him again. Nothing cures that like beer and burgers, so to lunch we headed!

The rest of our trip was uneventful (if you count lightning storms, pelting rain and wearing 3 wool layers + leathers + rain gear and still feeling cold "uneventful"), and totally awesome. We never did manage to camp, preferring dry, warm hole-in-the-wall motels to setting up and breaking down camp in the rain, but I put in a lot of good riding time and feel like I can actually control my bike now (gone are the days of having my husband park it or make U-turns for me!) and am comfortable riding it through any kind of weather. Plus, I kept getting out of showering by telling my husband that real biker chicks don't shower every day. He slept on the other side of the room most nights, but he didn't try to argue!

He hasn't run a single mile since we got back, but he's planning to run in Missouri on Labor Day Weekend. He has also said that he'll be running this one in Vibram's Five Fingers to see what the fuss of minimalist running is all about… can't wait to report how it goes!