O.k., here is the story of my first-ever marathon:

Started with the 4:30 pace group, and Terri started with me (which was nice because she was going for 4:00). About 50 yards into the race, she looks at me and says, "Holy shit, Pete, we're running a marathon!" After about one mile she left to join the 4:00 pace group. I continued to cruise along with the 4:30 people with no problems. At the first four water stations the lines for the potties were so long that I passed on them. At about 6 miles I found a nice area off to the side to pee, so that was a big relief.

At about the 9 mile mark, the pace group was too quiet. I decided to liven it up...asking the pace guy, "How are you, pacer Jim?", he responded with "I'm A-OK, how are you?" "I'm A-OK too, pacer Jim". I then started to clap and cheer, which got the rest of the group to clap and cheer for ourselves. Two ladies thanked me because they said they needed something to fire them up at that point. We continued to easily navigate the course but it seemed a bit more hilly than I thought it might be. By the time we got to Camp Randall my quads were getting a bit heavy. At the mile twelve aid station I took water, GU, and a bit of Gatorade. This is where I started to lose the group. I walked this station more than any other and had a hard time catching up. At mile 12.68 (I will always remember looking at the watch) I started to feel things in my feet and ankles that I never really felt before. Some tightness, some pain. Walked just a bit, was caught by a woman from the 4:30 group who had stopped to pee and waited in line. She ran with me, got me going and almost back to the pace group, but the wheels were literally starting to fall off. I hit 13.1 at 2:17, still on pace for 4:30 (or damn close to it) but knew it was going to be a huge struggle. From mile 13.5 forward, the hills seemed to be more prevalant, and steeper. In retrospect, I have determined that the foot and ankle issues may have something to do with the limited range of motion (especially in the left ankle) due to previous broken bones and surgeries. The climbing and descending really stretched them beyond their range. But I digress...at about mile 18 I was starting to walk more than run. I ran on any flat parts and downhills, but walked up all hills. It was at about mile 20 that I started the serious conversations with myself. Most of them revolved around how I trained damn hard for this race, logged hundreds of miles, and now I am walking more than running. The conclusion I came to was that I was going to finish this race, but I knew it was going to hurt. With the amount of walking I was doing, other areas started to tighten up. Throughout the whole ordeal my stomach was fine, water and GU were great, a little Gatorade was OK, and my hips and IT bands held up great. My back was just a little tight, but the hammies and quads were screaming.

I was actually running when I got to the water stop at mile 23. There was the angel named TracyV. She told me I was doing great, gave me some water and ice, and let me use her cell phone so I could call me wife. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! It was exactly noon, the time I was expecting to cross the finish line. I needed to let her know that I was still plugging along, but that I would be a bit late!

Miles 23, 24, 25 were the crappiest 45 minutes in recent memory. From 25 to 26 I got very emotional with myself, then at 25.9 I heard my son Nick yell, "HI DAD" and everyting seemed better in a hurry. I turned the last corner, saw my wife and other son Joe, then Clint, Terri, Amy Jo and Craig. VERY HAPPY to see them...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for being there at the end. I ran all the way to the finish, heard my name announced, and loved the crowd cheering. Crossed the line, got the medal, recycled the timing chip, grabbed my chocolate milk and cried.

I was soooo pissed off about how this race unfolded and the result. I was very full of emotion...

Now that I have had 24 hours to think about it...I will do another marathon someday (not what I was saying yesterday!). A much flatter marathon to be sure...but for now Madison has become my "nemesis" race. I will be back someday, you bitch, and I will defeat you.

I honestly don't know. I trained hard, maybe missing three training runs during the entire plan. I missed two of Nick's basketball games to get long runs in and my family sacrificed so much too. I trained on hills, even my 20 mile long run had plenty of hilly sections. Nothing happened along the way to give me any indication that my feet and ankles would react this way on race day.

Walked around until I finished my chocolate milk then walked over to Brat Fest with my family. The lines were ridiculously long so we went back to the hotel. We stopped at ROCKY'S for a post-race slice. I spent the rest of the night thanking my wife and kids for all of their help.


Years of abuse on the basketball court, three surgeries, and about 25 pounds.


Nowhere in the literature did I see that the course was real hilly. Volunteers were awesome!!!!