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Comments: Dave wanted a 10:00/mile pace for the first 15 miles or so, then see what I had left to push harder. That was before the puking. I ran with the 4:20 pace group (9:55 pace) until the first aid station, when they all pulled over for water. I kept running. I actually caught the 4:10 (9:33 pace) group and settled in just behind them. I actually went 9:08 (I guess the 4:20 pace group was going out fast too!), 9:12, 9:23, 9:35, 9:18 for the first five miles. Yes it was fast but I was feeling so good!!! I did feel a little "hot spot" on my left arch that I thought might be a blister coming. I thought about Vaseline at an aid station but it went away by mile 9. Settled into a smooth 9:45 ish range for the next five miles. My pace was noticeably faster whenever I approached a big crowd. The fans along the route were awesome. Saw Dave at mile 7 and I think I surprised him with how I was running. Form was perfect and I was smiling. At mile 9 was the RACC aid station. Seeing Cole Braun really gave me a boost. He might be the most positive person I know. He actually ran with me for 25 yards, giving me words of encouragement. Breaking the race down into segments really worked for me. Once I got to the RACC station, I had four easy miles to the 1/2 way mark. Hit the half at 2:06. Holy crap!!! Still feeling great. I was sticking to the original nutrition plan of Roctane every 5 miles with mostly water at the stations. Actually at mile 7 (when I saw Lisa, lrunfit, cheering for me, THANKS LISA) I started with Gatorade AND water at every stop. This worked well. From 13 it was only 4 miles to the aid station manned by my cousin. Those 4 miles were in the 9:35-9:50 range. More Roctane at that stop along with 2 S caps. Now it was only 2 miles until I would see the family at Klode Park. The first mile was a little slow but turned a 9:39 mile 19. My wife was waiting with 1/2 PB sandwich and Gatorade. As I approached her I let some emotion out...I screamed "I AM KILLING IT". She laughed and screamed "YES YOU ARE". This stop took a little longer than planned but I needed the food. I took off and still felt pretty good. The miles were now closer to 10:00 - 10:12 but nothing was hurting. Stomach was great, legs were great, so I just kept running. Miles 23 - 25 were downhill then flat and I did 10:19, 10:12 and 10:18. At the start of 25, the left side of my lower back kind of cramped, but nothing serious. DTFU, too close to the finish. Mile 26 was 10:03. I was looking for the finish arch, spotted it and started to sprint. The last .2 was at an 8:05 pace. Hit the line at 4:20:07. Right on my goal. Really. What would you do differently?: NOTHING (except maybe NOT puke). The hardest part of any race for me is the early pace. For this race, as much as I wanted to stick to 10:00 miles, I just wasn't sure about the last 10 miles after having thrown up my pre-race meal. Today was all about going with feel. I felt soooo good all day that I just went with it.  Post race
Warm down: Walked around the finishers area, grabbed orange slices, cookies, Gatorade. Found my family and took some pictures. The boys were part of the kids marathon. They had been running for the past two months, logging miles until they got to 25. They ran the last 1.2 today along the last 1.2 of the marathon, finishing at the same finsh line. They received finishers shirts and medals!!! Talked to Nicole, Mike and Kesha. Speaking of Kesha, she was so great today. She is Nicole's friend and just has a great time cheering us on. She was great at Green Bay in May too! What limited your ability to perform faster: NOTHING. I PR'd by 1 hour and 11 minutes. Most gratifying for me was the fact that I RAN THE ENTIRE MARATHON. I walked five or six steps at the aid stations, but never once took a walk break on the course. Mentally, I was dialed in today. Ever since the Lake Country 1/2 marathon, I have been mentally tougher. Breaking that 2:00 barrier in a half was very big for me. At this point I have to thank everyone who has helped me this summer and fall. The words of encouragement and inspires this past week were awesome too. To my wife: you are such a source of encouragement. This has been a rough summer for me with the employment situation but we made it work and you really helped me get my training in. Coach Dave, nice plan buddy. When we first discussed this in February I told you that I didn't want to run another 5 hour marathon. Mission accomplished! The track workouts were hard, the hill workouts were hard, running six days per week was hard. It all worked. I was completely ready for this, and injury free too! Finally, to the TNT group: Stacey, Nicole, Amy, Sue, Jackie...your cheering today was awesome. I couldn't have done it without you. Sue, a friendly face and running along side at mile 25.5 was just what I needed. You ladies cheering me on and pushing me on Tuesday nights was so helpful. You are such a positive group of people. Wow, what an experience this was!!!!! Event comments: I love this race!!!! Last updated: 2010-08-02 12:00 AM
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United States
Badgerland Striders
45F / 7C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1177/1903
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 111/152
The key to this story lies in the pre-race routine. Before the Lake Country Half marathon one month ago, I ate 1/2 bagel with PB and a banana 2 hours pre-race and the same thing 1 hour pre-race. This worked perfectly for me and I had my best 1/2 marathon ever. The plan for Lakefront would be the same. I woke up at 5:00, got up at 5:15, bathroom, then downstairs to eat. Ate the banana and shortly after I broke out in cold sweats and had some dizziness. WHAT??? I didn't feel nervous at all. I trained hard, felt at ease and prepared. What is going on? I continued to get ready, made the bagel with PB, got my bag ready, kissed the boys and my wife and headed out the door. I sat in my car wondering if I could drive downtown. Pulled out of the driveway and headed east. Head was spinning, even more so when I turned my head. I forced down 1/2 of the bagel with Gatorade. I made it downtown, exited at the train station to go down St. Paul St. to get to the Third Ward. Well, at the Post Office I felt it coming. I pulled over, got out in time to lose my pre-race meal on the street. After three conversations with Ralph, I continued on my way to the ICC. The plan was to meet Dave, Nicole, Mike and Jim. Dave would drive us to Grafton. I parked the car, grabbed my stuff and walked to the bus area. Waited for Dave and tried to get my bearings. Stomach didn't feel too bad, but head was still spinning. We made it to Grafton High School and that is where the fun began. I got out of the van and stumbled around like I was drunk. I tried to walk it off. No luck. Dave told me to run to a tree and back. I walked it. Still not all there. Put on my Fuel Belt and number, grabbed my drop bag and headed to the start. Dave left to park the van.
I dropped my bag at the transport truck and went to try a warm up run. I ran about 30 yards, found a small grove of trees that was being used as a potty area, peed and ran back to the start area. I downed a GU Roctane and some water and found the 4:20 pace group. KimK's husband Tom came up to say good luck and I didn't even recognize him!!! So here I am, 5 minutes from the start of the most anticipated race of my life, a race that I trained so hard for, that I was so prepared for, and my head is spinning and I have NOTHING in my stomach. What is a Donkey to do? DTFU!!!!
I told myself that I would start running and see what happens. That's what I did.