Minneapolis Marathon

Race Reports from the full monty.

[b]When I woke up on race day the forecast said the wind was 0 mph. I thought it had to be a sign of good things to come as I ate my bowl of cereal and had a dose of caffeine before heading to the Minneapolis Marathon start. I was surprisingly calm for this being my first marathon, but I think it’s because I knew I was ready. After a commitment to year round outdoor running last year, I was mostly just excited to be able to run in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. In preparation for the race I was averaging about 35-40 miles per week and that includes a long run (15-20 miles) on either Saturday or Sunday. I just kept telling myself that this was like a training run minus having to carry our own supplies. It actually did turn out to be a drastic improvement from the time my running partner Kelli and I headed out on an 18-mile training run this spring with no water. We assumed the fountains around the lakes would all be turned on, but instead we just spent about 2 1/2 hours dropping Fs and dehydrated. 

We planned to average 8:45 miles for the first half of the race and we achieved that without any problem. The actual problem was that we should have slowed down a little bit, because I found out the hard way that the second half of the marathon is about ten times more difficult than the first. My body felt great all the way until about mile 21, and then I just felt pain. Every time my feet hit the pavement I questioned why I would partake in such a ridiculous activity. I was eating every hour and drinking regularly, so I couldn’t blame my pain on that. The in and out course didn’t really help my cause either because not only do you have to pass by the same people twice, but you also know what’s coming next. On the way out I was all smiles and actually enjoying myself, but on the way back I looked like I got attacked by a coyote somewhere in Fort Snelling and was trying to limp my way to safety. The hills became mountains and I had to mentally prepare for the end of the race. The last four miles were the most difficult I have ever run. I learned a huge lesson about pacing and also about training. Running in circles around Lake Calhoun just won’t cut it. You have to find hills and run them all the time. By the time I got to mile 25 I knew I was going to finish under four hours and that was pretty much the only thing that got me over the finish line. Crossing that line is a great feeling, and it’s amazing how quickly I forgot the pain I had just experienced. At least I forgot it until the next morning when I could barely walk. Somewhere around mile 23, and then again at mile 24, and again at 24.5….you get the picture, I swore I would never run a marathon again. I kind of already want to.

[/b]

After watching the first innagural Minneapolis Marathon (aka throwdown on the river road) on sunday I was feeling quite glad that I was too much of a scaredee cat to sign up for the race. It looked hilly and tough.   It was awsome seeing so many people out there on such a great day and supporting M&M in her first big dog.  Had I known there were coyotes attacking people down in fort snelling I would not have walked as far as I did down the path to find those two galloping donkeys extricating themselves from the forts harbor.   I was happy with the day,  got in a bit of a job with carl lewis,  I mean unger (tough to slow that guy down) and got some free oreos.  

All was good until Eric and Caleb (race directors) stopped in to our shop (we rent them space for storing cones, and large penguins, etc) and told me about the new tradition that the race directors will run the course the thursday after the race.  I told them they were nuts and was about to walk away when they mentioned it would be supported by a guy named mike who would have water, gu, and more importantly oreos and smarties.   I decided that it would be roughly as bad as swimming so I agreed to partake in it.  the turn around point is (as noted above) the coyote infested fort snelling,  and so I had a plan,  run with E and Caleb and then keep going from fort snelling to my condo,  or the light rail station depending on my condition.  this would put me at about 19 miles for the day.  Seeing as I have no long races,  I have no real reason to do this other than the company and the oreos,  but hey...I doubt too many people can blame me.  

7AM start,  we run the course with one bathroom stop for me,  then caleb,  before crossing over to boom island.  then it is pretty steady smooth sailing back the stone arch,  up to the guthrie where we picked up a stragler for a few miles,  and down to the river road.  

Mike our support man met us down on the river road for the first aid stop,  heed and water a few pics and off we went.  

We were trying to break Calebs Hawaii Ironman Marathon of 3:36 and so we worked on 8:00 minute pace.  Mike was there for us ever couple of miles as we ran down the middle of the road as if the race was actually on....the cars did not find this as ammusing as we did.  It was an awsome day,  maybe even better than race day.  My legs started to get tired as we ran up near the fort in fort snelling.
 
we found some cones and some signs near the fort so we ran a half mile carrying cones and signs down to the visitors center where mike could pick them up.  deep into the woods we also found an insperational flag that reminded us that tough times don't build character,  they reviel it.  which I think the lady and her dog who passed us also appreciated.  we exited the trail to the smell of rotten eggs and got anothe (my last) supported stop.  Eric and Caleb turned and headed towards the finish as I trotted out of the park the other way towards the airport on post road.  I ran the last 3 miles solo and kept our pace,  but was extremely happy to be done when I got to the condo.  showered, had some coca cola,  and some left over indian food that I dug out of the garbage,  and was at work with a smile on my face before long.  
Caleb and Eric finished in 3:43:06 and completed the first running of the directors cup and recieved thier finishers jackets.  I finished in 2:48 in a different city with nothing to show for it but sore legs.