Green Bay Marathon

I wish I could say that I ran as strong of a race as the one I recently ran in Door County. It didn't happen. With this post, I wish I could say that I paced myself properly at the start and increased my pace as the race progressed. It didn't happen. With this post, I wish I could say that I ran all 26.2 miles without stopping. It didn't happen. With this post, I wish I could say that I broke the 5-hour barrier. It didn't happen.

Despite all these "misses," I'm not hanging my head. My official time of 5:03:01 was just a tick faster than my time in Chicago last October (5:04:36). I felt stronger for Green Bay than I did for Chicago and had a more enjoyable run. So what happened?

On Saturday afternoon, I drove to Green Bay. Unlike last year, Jody was unable to join me for this marathon because of a scheduling conflict. My first stop was Lambeau Field where I picked up my race packet. 

It is hard to tell, but in the bottom center is the marathon expo at Lambeau.

After that, I checked into the hotel, rested for a couple hours, and then headed to dinner. The latter would be at Grazies, where I had two servings of bread, a small bowl of chicken and rice soup, and an enormous plate of spaghetti. Yes, I may have taken "carb loading" to an extreme.

On Sunday, the alarm went off at 4:30 AM. I hit the snooze button once but slid out of bed at 4:45. I was out the door by 6:00 AM and at Lambeau Field ten minutes later.

The race started at 7:00 AM, so I had some time to kill and spent most of it sitting on a curb watching the runners warm up, take photos, and chat with friends and family. I walked around the grounds a little bit and did some light stretching but nothing like I would have had this been a 5K race.

By 7:00 AM, the corrals were mostly full. This race had about 8,000 total runners, but this included the half-marathoners. For the marathon, there were 1289 men and 1290 women.

In the corral, waiting for the race to start.

I started in corral/wave D, at roughly the 12:00 min/mi pace area. However, as soon as we started, I moved up and approached the 11:26 min/mi pace group (which is a 5 hour finish). I would regret this decision later.

The course is flat. Chicago Marathon flat. It winds through friendly neighborhoods, follows the Fox River Trail for about six miles, does a lap around City Stadium at mile 18 (where the Packers played from 1925-1956), and culminates with a lap around the grass at Lambeau Field.

Like Chicago last October, I started out strong. Too strong. Despite being more more mindful of my pace in the early miles, I still let my ego get the better of me. Instead of hanging back with the 12:00 min/mi pace ground for the first half of the race, I pushed myself to keep within eye shot of the 4:45 finish group (a 10:52 min/mi pace). Ideally, I would have hung with the 5:00 hour pace group, but I quickly found the pace leader to be too annoying to tolerate for any extended period of time. This group used a combination of walking and running with their commander-in-chief barking out orders ("and we're walking at a brisk pace..." or "and we are running ... but don't push it"). Besides, one of my goals was to run the whole race (water stations being the exception).

Instead, I ran ahead of this group but behind the 4:45 group for the first 15 miles. But soon after we crossed the halfway point, I started to slow. I watched as the 4:45 group disappeared around a corner, never to be seen again. 

By mile 20, my quads and hips were begging me to stop running. There was a growing soreness in my lower-right back, and I was fighting a slight side stitch on my right side. Also, my stomach did not feel the greatest. At mile 22, I could run no further and started to walk.

Who would have thought that a run in Green Bay on May 22 would be on one of the warmest days of the year so far? Well, it was. From the first step until the last one, there was not a single cloud in the sky and by the mid-race point, the temperatures were approaching the lower-70s. As the course weaved its way through the neighborhoods, there were stretches of shade, but there were also stretches of intense sun exposure.

I have always struggled running when the sky is completely clear and the sun beaming down on me. Unless it is 40 degrees or cooler, I get frustrated at the relentless rays and lose focus. I start to slouch and cower away from that bright shining star, which causes my running form to collapse. When this happens, every mile feels like 5 miles and all I want to do is curl up into a ball and take a nap under a shady tree. This is what happened on Sunday. Miles 22-26.2 were a complete struggle -- mental and physical.

By mile 22, I heard the booming voice of the 5:00 hour group leader. I had lost the 6 minute cushion I had built up from earlier in the race. I managed to keep ahead of the 5:00 hour group until about mile 24. For a few fleeting steps, I thought I could keep pace with the few runners still remaining in the group. Nope. They soon disappeared around a corner.

The final 2.2 miles were a blur. I did manage to run all the way around Lambeau Field before succumbing to a few walking steps less than 100 yards from the finish line. A final push let me run the last 50 or so yards to the finish line.

Overall, this was not my best race nor was it my worst one. I felt better and stronger than the Chicago marathon. As I write this, a day after the marathon, my legs are not nearly as sore as they were the morning after Chicago. This leads me to believe that my inability to run for longer stretches was more mental than physical.

There is much more work to be done for me to break the 5-hour mark. I will try again next year. Where and when, I don't know yet, but after running two marathons in 70 and 80 degree temperatures, a marathon in Alaska doesn't sound so bad.

Post-race selfie. It's kind of a part-smile, part-grimace, part-squint. 

And then there was one...

One week to go before the Green Bay Marathon.

What's my plan this week? Fortunately, I have enough grading on my plate to keep me busy and distracted. But there will be a few miles here and there.

On Saturday, I ran my last "long" run before the marathon ... a wonderful 8 miles. Instead of running these miles as fast as I could to get them over with, I ran the 8 miles at my projected marathon pace -- somewhere between 10:30 min/mi and 11:00 min/mi. I admit, it is often difficult to govern myself to run at this pace. I imagine it will be even harder in Green Bay when the adrenaline is flowing for those first few miles. For the most part, I did okay with the 8 miles, but there were a couple quicker miles which might get me in trouble on Sunday.

On Monday morning, I ran 3 miles at my marathon pace. On Tuesday, I will run another 3 miles (also at my marathon pace). And on Wednesday, it will be 2 miles. Thursday and Friday will be rest days. On Saturday morning, before I drive to Green Bay, I will run 2 miles to get out some nervous jitters and remind the legs what they have in store for them on Sunday.

The other big component for this week is my diet. Almost everyone has heard of carb loading before a long run, which mean a big plate of pasta the night before the race.

Although I intend to have a hearty meal the night before the race, I have read in a couple places where carb loading should begin a few days before the race. I'm not going to drastically change my eating habits this week -- now is not a good time to mess with the diet -- but starting on Wednesday, I am going to reduce my fiber intake and increase the amount of carbs I eat. This will probably mean more oatmeal for breakfast, followed by a bagel for a morning snack. I will also incorporate rice and rolls for dinner. I have no idea if these subtle changes will make any difference, but I'll be perfectly happy if they have a placebo effect.

And then there are elements that are beyond my control, namely Mother Nature...

Several weeks ago, as a cold spell gripped Milwaukee, I joked that there would be ice and snow in Green Bay for the marathon. I as write this and look at the forecast for Sunday, I could only wish for cooler temperatures. The forecast as of Monday is not looking ideal for a race:

The race starts at 7 AM, so it will not be too bad for the first half of the race, but the relentless sun may take its toll by mile 20. I must remember to pack the sunscreen and a hat. I am toast if I forget either of them.

For the few of you who read this post, you may track my progress during the race. To do this, visit this website: http://www.cellcomgreenbaymarathon.com/track-your-runner/#/tracker/R7EHP63L. My bib number will be 1545.

Door County Half-Marathon Revisited

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the progress I had made with my training. This past weekend was a true test of this training as Jody and I returned to Door Country for the Door County Half-Marathon and Nicolet Bay 5K.

This was our second visit Emphraim, WI for these races. I wrote about last year's experience in a July post titled "It's Supposed to Be Fun, Right?" In that post, I relived my unfortunate experience of crashing into the proverbial wall at the 12 mile mark:

I watched in vain as the 10:15 pacers, with whom I had started the race, disappeared around the bend. I kept shaking my head. Frustrated is putting it kindly.

I walked for a half mile before mustering the energy to run the last half mile. I ignored my watch. I tried to enjoy the moment as I crossed the finish line.

Despite the crash, I still had a PR for my half-marathon time, finishing in 2:11:45. Not bad knowing that when I registered for the event I thought 2:30:00 would be okay.

What a difference a year makes.

This time, the wall did not stop me and I set a new PR for my half-marathon time and shaved nearly 15 minutes off of last year's race time.

Unlike last year, this year, I started with the 9:05 pacers (these are one or two runners that typically hold signs with the mile per hour pace (or in some cases the projected finish time) on them for most or all of the entire race). My goal was to start with the 9:05 pace group and then work my way up to the 9:00 min/mi pace group.

Pacers (not Door County).

One of the challenges of running with pace groups is that they are typically congested with runners. For someone, like myself, who likes to run in a bit of space, these are not the ideal spots to be in. Where most runners run behind the pace group, I found the ideal location was in front of them. I could maintain my pace by listening to the pacers talk (and they talked non-stop while I was with them) or I could see their shadows.

I ran with this pace group for about the first 5 miles, until we reached the first climb, at which, I picked up my pace and left them behind me ... never to see them again on this run. Alas, they served me well by keeping me from burning out the first few miles like I did last year.

The rest of the race was fairly smooth sailing. At the half-way point, I was at roughly 0:57:00 ... well under my goal for a sub-2:00 hour race. I had a few moments when my knees started to bother me but I chose to run through this discomfort rather than stop and stretch them like I have done on long runs in Milwaukee. Despite the slight discomfort in my knees, I felt strong and relaxed.

At mile 11, I met up with Jody and she ran with me for a short bit. Her timing was perfect as we had our picture taken by a race photographer.

 

Then I reached mile 12 ... my nemesis point last year. I only smiled this year as I had no thoughts to slow down and start walking. In fact, I was even able to give the camera guy a thumbs up during this stretch.

It was also at mile 12 where I first noticed the 9:00 min/mi pace group! Once I caught up with them, I ran with them for a few minutes before deciding that I had more left in my tank and could pass them. It was not long before I could no longer hear their voices.

Where last year the final 1.1 miles seemed to take forever to arrive, this year, I found myself quickly approaching the finish line. One final burst of energy led to a quasi-sprint across the finish line: 1:57:25!

There is no doubt in my mind that training for the Green Bay Marathon resulted in the success of this race. Had I been focused solely on this run, I probably would have picked a training regiment that was not as rigorous. Alas, while I am very proud of my accomplishment, I know I still have one more big race to go as the Green Bay Marathon looms in two weeks.

As for Door County, Jody and I have already discussed returning next year. The challenge, however, becomes setting a new goal. This year's goal was a relatively easy target -- a sub-2:00 hour race. Aiming for a 1:49:00 would be wonderful but this might be a stretch given that this about an 8:18 min/mi pace, which would require a level of training dedication that I'm not sure I can commit to, especially during the winter months. A 1:55:00 might be much more realistic as it would be an 8:46 min/mi pace. We'll see. For now, I need to turn my attention to two final weeks of preparation runs before Green Bay.