17/50 Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon

This is what redemption feels like. In my quest for 50 state marathons before I turn 50, I had planned to use my Green Bay Marathon from 2012 for Wisconsin. That is, until they closed the course on me (literally shut a gate two blocks from the finish) at mile 26! If you haven't already, go back and read that blog entry; you'll see what a fiasco the race was. So that brings me to the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon.

I didn't do much since the Quad Cities Marathon two weeks ago. In fact, I did so little that I brought my summer weekly average miles down from 25 miles per week to 23 miles per week! I had planned to reclaim a marathon PR when I registered for this race back in March. Obviously, you don't do it with that kind of training regimen! I was now just hoping to achieve another sub 3-hour marathon in another state.

This marathon is a well-known PR course. The weather is usually perfect, it's dotted with gently rolling hills providing for a net downhill race. The field of runners is also impressive. I've found that with most of the marathons I run, I place in the top 1% of the field. Looking at the 2012 results from this race, a sub 3-hour marathon would have me within the top 3%. To put that into perspective, not even the Boston Marathon yields that high of a percentage!

Given the above, I started this race with a group of about 20 or so runners with a time goal of 2:55:00. The group stayed together through the half marathon mark, close to pace at 1:27:50. Unfortunately, as the experienced marathoner knows, most runners go out too fast, myself included. By the 20-mile mark, our group had whittled down to about 5 of us. This is where my poor training came into the picture. Knowing that I just needed a 2:59, I slowed my pace considerably. Until this point, the weather was an overcast 55 degrees. The last 6.2 miles were full of sun, resulting in a good 10-15 degree increase in temperature.

All things considered, this race was a success. I finished 44th out of 2,158 finishers (that's better than I had anticipated - the top 2%) with a time of 2:58:39 (6:49 per mile average pace). I now have a sub 3-hour marathon in 13 of my 17 states.

Living within an hour of Milwaukee had its advantages this weekend. We met friends that were also running the race and spent the weekend hanging out. It's a great city with a lot to discover. Their riverwalk has a lot of great places to eat and drink. This is Wisconsin; they know beer and represent accordingly. Every time we're in town we visit the coolest hotel I've ever checked into, The Iron Horse Hotel (http://www.theironhorsehotel.com). Call it "biker chic" though you'll find that it's not just for bikers (of course, The Wife and I love the biker amenities). We went to Smyth, their fine dining restaurant, for brunch. Incredible.

And let's not forget about the "Great T-Shirt Debacle" of 2013; the colors, the off-centered logo...people will complain about EVERYTHING!

28th Overall Marathon - The Quad Cities Marathon

My annual charity to the sport of marathoning comes in the form of volunteering to be a pace leader for one marathon a year.  Lately, I've been volunteering at the Quad Cities Marathon in Moline, IL or Davenport, IA or Bettendorf, IA or Rock Island, IL. You know what? Let's go with Rock Island. That's by far the cooler city, in my opinion.

I usually pace the 3 hour and 10 minute group for the marathon. It's a comfortable pace for me to run and still cheer like a mascot and keep these runners and spectators entertained! It really is the one marathon I run where my throat is more sore than my legs afterwards. I paced the Quad Cities Marathon last year so I was familiar with the route and what to expect in the way of crowds. This is a great race! It's well organized, small and a fast course. I get a lot of Boston Marathon hopefulls in the 3:10 group and that makes the task that much more rewarding.

The weather forecast was for upper 60s and sunny. I rode the motorcycle into town the day before, celebrated Oktoberfest at the Bier Stubbe and crashed on a friend of a friend's floor for the night. Since my WA marathon in July, I haven't run with much consistency. Yep, I was back to my usual marathon training! This time, I was nursing a torn calf muscle and Morton's neuroma coupled with all the headaches of selling and buying a home, which both closed about two weeks before this race. I was averaging about 25 miles per week and slightly worried that a 3:10 pace might be a challenge. Of course, a few beers always helps to wash that concern away!

The start line was packed with runners in high spirits; this was ideal PR weather. I started with a group of about 10 people. I had runners come and go throughout the race but only one made it to the end with me. There's a point around 17 - 20 miles that gets the best of most runners. Today was no exception. I managed to bring this one runner in just under my 3:10 pacing goal time. Though he was the only one to make it, I would continue to see runners eventually cross the finish line and thank me for the motivation. It's inspiring to know that being positive can do so much for someone out on the course.

The highlight for me, however, was hearing someone at mile 23 yell, "hey, I know you. I know you!!!" as she proceeded to run after me with her 9-month old baby in her arms! I recognized her immediately as a woman I met in college as an orientation leader. This was 13 years ago and I haven't heard from her since (not even Facebook, gasp!).

Shortly after the race, I got on the bike for the 200-mile trek home on a crisp, sunny afternoon. The advantage of running enough of these is that my body recovers really well so sitting on a bike for three hours isn't bothersome. I suppose now I'll taper for the Milwaukee Marathon in two weeks. Can I call it a taper if I've hardly run?!

16/50 - Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon

It's been a long time...

After pacing the Quad Cities Marathon last fall, I cancelled my plans to run the Marine Corp Marathon in DC in October due to Hurricane Sandy. Then, nesting set in. With my first child due in December, I let running take a back seat for a while. I was logging about 10 miles per week until March when I began to train for this marathon.

As you know by my previous posts, I'm not one to stick to a training plan much less come to the table with one! This time was different. Over the course of the 18 weeks leading up to the race, I averaged 45 miles per week. I peaked at about 70 miles per week. I ran a 27-mile solo long run (the first time I ran this distance outside of a marathon) just because I felt good that day (and also because I almost got hit by a car and the adrenaline was flowing!). By starting a running club (www.facebook.com/HFCRC), I found that we all became accountable for each other's training; weekly speed workouts, long runs, strength training, some good 5K races, drinking lots of beer with new running friends - all the pieces were there!

I finally got to a point where I felt like I was back in PR shape. That was, until I strained my calf muscle 8 days prior to the race! The calf was so bad that I could hardly walk and running was out of the question. Massage, compression and ice had little effect. I was hoping that with a week of rest, I could stumble through this one and knock Washington off my state list.

We arrived in Seattle on Wednesday and the race was on Sunday. My wife had a work conference so the kid and I relished the beautiful summer-in-Seattle weather and walked to the Pike Place Market (www.pikeplacemarket.org) for the freshest Rainier cherries, Copper River salmon, on-site roasted coffees and delectable macaroons (www.lepanier.com), visited the Museum of Flight (www.museumofflight.org) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Museum (www.gatesfoundation.org/Who-We-Are/General-Information/Visitor-Center) and scoured the city for the best donut shops (www.toppotdoughnuts.com and www.mightyo.com). The conference offered daycare so the Wife and I made a dinner reservation at Tom Douglas' Lola (www.tomdouglas.com/index.php?page=lola) that we didn't regret! This rustic Mediterranean-style restaurant is a must if you're in the Seattle area.

I should note that we were also out here for a family wedding the night before the marathon.  The reception was in a skybox at the Mariner's Safeco Field. What's baseball without a ton of food, great beer and good people? This stadium is so nice compared to many ballparks; the amenities (food, drink, child perks), the employees and the stadium design is well thought out. Getting our photo with the mascot was just icing on the cake!

It was a 50-mile drive east to the Summit at Snoqualmie Pass, our hotel for the night near the start of the marathon. The race was point-to-point through the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range and finished in the town that the television series Twin Peaks was set in. A gradual downhill course run on an old train path, racing flats were not the best shoe choice for 26.2 miles of gravel road! That oversight aside, this was one of the most beautiful courses I have run. You start by running through a 2-mile tunnel (a flashlight was highly recommended since it is pitch black in the tunnel and of course, I forgot mine) that opens up to a scenic route, replete with old train trestles, wildlife and many outdoor sport enthusiasts (the route is open to the public during the race).

Not knowing what my calf was going to do, I started out slower than usual. For the first 5 miles, I averaged about 7:15 per mile. Building confidence with a slightly altered gait, I decided to go for a sub 3-hour marathon. As if 50 marathons in 50 states by the time I am 50 isn't enough, I would like to do them all in under 3 hours (11 of my 15 state marathons before WA are sub-3 hours). This feat has only been accomplished by a small group of people to date.

Choosing to run a trail marathon that caps entries to 400 is not something I would recommend to the first time marathon runner; there were no spectators cheering us on and I ran 24 of those miles alone. However, this is the marathon I now prefer. You discover how strong you are when you have to run alone. You see the beauty of landscapes like few others do.  You're left alone with your thoughts and plenty of time to solve your life's quandaries. I managed to achieve my goal of a sub-3 hour marathon by completing this race in 7th place overall, 1st place in my age group (30-34) and with an official time of 2:57:58. Not bad for worrying that my calf would give out with each step I took!